Shisainimiru
by UnluckyAmulet
Summary: Grimmjow doesn't care about anybody or anything. That is how he likes it. But when he decides prisoner Isaki has something he wants, he will go to any lengths to get it. But is the ultimate price what he takes, or what he gains because of it? GrimmOC.
1. The Summoner

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach! (If I did, Aizen would have bit the dust a loooong time ago.)

Originally, this story was posted on my alt account, but I've decided to move it as it was a pain in the ass having to constantly go back-and-forth between the two. This fanfic is Grimmjow x OC, so if you don't like OCs, please GTFO. You've been warned. For everbody else, welcome! Rated T (for now) for violence, language and a bit of sexual stuff. Rating may go up, haven't decided yet. Also, a special shout-out to my fellow Bleach buddy, Erin.

Enjoy!

* * *

_Under the moonlight,  
__you see a sight that almost stops your heart_

_~ Thriller (Micheal Jackson)_

"Welcome, Espada."

Sousuke Aizen sat calmly at the end of the long table, eyes slowly watching each Espada in turn, a small smile on Aizen's face, seemingly satisfied with what he saw. Gin and Tousen, flanked at either side of Aizen, were both silent, Gin wearing a knowing smile and Tousen's expression serious.

"There has been a recent development I would like to call to your attention." Aizen began, hand resting by a cup of tea, which he insisted that each Espada be supplied with every meeting as well as himself and the two other captains. "Kaname, the projection."

"Hai, Aizen-taicho." Tousen said, flipping on the switch.

A spherical hologram appeared in the centre of the large table appeared. The image was still, but what it was projecting was an image of a person, or at least a drawing of one. It was a female, and judging by the clothing she was wearing, one from a period long since past. Around her were several strange and bizarre creatures, and the woman was holding some kind of ancient sword. It was impossible to tell much else about the woman, since the ink was black and the page yellowing, but whoever she was, she had been drawn with care and a strange air of fierceness.

"I trust that you will recall the new arrival of Orihime Inoue." Aizen continued, bringing his eyes up to confirm the Espada were looking at it, which they were. "A human who recently developed phenomenal abilities thanks to the exposure of a shinigami."

Here, Aizen nodded at Kaname, who clicked the projector's switch again, and the image of the strange woman disappeared.

"According to the scouts that I have had watch over the human world, another exceptional human has been detected."

"Why, what d'ya mean, Aizen-taicho?" asked Gin, who looked as though he knew perfectly well what Aizen was talking about and was just saying it to annoy the Espada. "That was a nice drawin' ya just showed us, but that human has surely been dead a while."

"The human I am referring to is not the one on the image, no." replied Aizen, calmly. "However, she is distantly related to the woman in the painting."

"Oh?" piped up Gin again, although this time he declined to comment further.

"The human in the picture is known as a Summoner." continued Aizen. "She was a human who aided the Soul Society in a great battle on earth centuries past. Once the war was over, she became a legend in the human world and was passed down as a myth, a fable. However, she was a real person. And I have reason to believe that her descendant has recently awoken."

"Eh? A Summoner?" called out one of the Espada. Judging by the voice, it was probably Nnoitra. "What's so special about that, Aizen-sama? Ain't that just a human that can do stupid tricks?"

"A Summoner is a human with the ability to call upon spirits and forge bonds with them." Aizen elaborated. "The girl I believe to have this ability is Shirazumi Isaki. Also formally known as a ryoka in the Soul Society."

"Ryoka?" interrupted Stark, with a yawn. "Doesn't that mean she has special abilities because of shinigami interference?"

"Shirazumi-san is not an ordinary human," replied Aizen, sipping more of his tea. "Nor is she one of the humans who were recently affected by Kurosaki Ichigo's reiatsu like Orihime Inoue and the rest of those ryoka. In fact, she has had this ability for some time, but since the awakening of Kurosaki Ichigo, Shirazumi-san's own abilities rapidly grew in strength. These ryoka, these humans, are special."

At the mention of Ichigo, Aizen could feel a subtle shift in the room. The Espada - Ulquiorra and Grimmjow, specifically- were suddenly listening intently. Aizen smiled knowingly into his cup of tea, enjoying the increase of intensity in their stares.

"Aizen-sama, why is Kurosaki Ichigo's influence so significant to this human if her abilities already existed?" Ulquiorra asked, green eyes fixated upon Aizen's face.

Aizen smirked as he lowered the cup.

"An astute question, Ulquiorra. According to the records on the woman in the Soul Society, her abilities have existed for much longer then Shirazumi-san herself, as I explained when I showed you the etching of Kokone, the last recorded Summoner. The art of Summoning has existed for centuries. There are Summoners all around Earth. Shirazumi-san was selected to be the next Summoner of Kokone's lineage as a child. I believe her abilities have changed and accelerated because of both her capacity as an adult and her direct contact with Shinigami."

Here, Aizen put his cup of tea back down.

"But the most interesting thing is the spirits specifically chose Shirazumi-san, instead of her merely being born with the ability. Summoners are a peculiar group and they vary in power, although Shirazumi-san has so far not shown the same level of power as her ancestor. No Shinigami or Hollow has ever been recorded being able to create pacts with spirits like this particular type of human. In this regard, they are something like the Quincy."

Gin, who had been smiling his trademark smile all the way through this little speech, suddenly broke into a grin.

"Ne, Aizen-taicho, are ya suggesting this here girl is another weapon of Soul Society?"

"That is exactly what I am suggesting, Gin." replied Aizen, amused. "Or at least, that is what they intend to use her abilities for, as they have done in the past. This is why it is in our best interest to prevent the Soul Society from having a valuable weapon."

Here, Aizen raised his eyes to the Espada.

"Tonight, I will be sending some of you to the human world. I do not think I need to emphasize that this girl be brought back alive. If any Shinigami interfere- and if they can, they will- kill them. But I will not accept a failure of this mission. Is that understood, my Espada?"

There was a general collective noise of assent.

"Good. This meeting is over."

The Espada filed out, contemplating the curious ways that humans all of a sudden were of interest to Aizen. It hadn't been long that they had received and carried out the order to abduct Orihime Inoue, after all. As they left, Aizen stood up, flanked by Gin and Tousen.

"Aizen-taicho." spoke Tousen, seriously. "Do you really think this girl carries the same potential threat as Orihime Inoue?"

"Sure sounds like it." chipped in Gin, flippantly.

"Yes, I do." replied Aizen, closing his eyes for a moment, a smile gracing his mouth. "If she is anything like the last Summoner, I have no doubt that Soul Society will use that power to try and destroy us."

Then, Aizen added quietly, almost as an afterthought.

"Besides, I believe Inoue-san is getting lonely, don't you?"

* * *

It was that time of day when the afternoon is almost over. The summer day had been flawless- not a cloud in the sky, which was still a magnificent blue, despite the sun slowly creeping across the vast canvas. The air was thick with the scent of flowers, and animals lay in patches of warm sunlight, too contented and comfortable to do much else. It was the definition of a lazy, summer day. Bliss.

"Ouch! Dammit!"

The tranquility was abruptly broken as a girl swore as she accidentally smacked her shin upon the stone steps.

Shirazumi Isaki huffed, annoyed, blowing up strands of her thin, slightly too long bangs out of her face. She examined the deep graze, but she couldn't see any blood, just some flushed pink skin. Opting to ignore this, she continued on up the steep stone steps, slightly grubby trainers making slapping sounds under her quick footsteps.

Eventually, after climbing some way (and grumbling some more about her clumsiness), Isaki finally reached the top of the shrine. She looked across the grass and smiled slightly as she found what – or rather, who- she had been searching for.

"Hey, I thought I might find you here." She called out to a figure, which was perched on a weather-beaten bench, gazing over Karakura town as though he had been put on earth for that soul reason.

"Ah, Isaki-san." Said Ichigo, only sounding mildly surprised, glancing over his shoulder. She pondered as to whether he heard her coming and just hadn't bothered to attempt avoiding her.

At that moment, the light breeze gained in speed as Isaki made her way towards him, whipping up her hair and the long blades of grass underfoot. Isaki sighed at the honorific.

"I keep telling you, Ichigo, you don't have to be so formal." She said, her voice audible over the wind.

Ichigo may have mumbled something, but whatever it was, she couldn't hear it.

"I'm taking it that Orihime's disappearance didn't go down so well?" Isaki asked when she reached Ichigo, raising her eyebrows as she took in the faint mark that Tatsuki had left on Ichigo's cheek.

"Yeah...you could say that." Ichigo agreed, with a slightly awkward laugh, looking down at his knees.

Isaki stared at him for a moment, then sighed again and perched on the back of the bench, her feet planted on the space beside Ichigo.

"How did you know I'd be here?" Ichigo asked abruptly, glancing up at Isaki, who was resting her face in her hands, and her elbows on her knees.

"Well, I figured that if you wanted to go somewhere to be alone, this is where you'd pick." Replied Isaki, with a shrug. "There aren't many places in Karakura this quiet."

"Yeah..."

"And," added Isaki, grinning a little. "Urahara-san may have hinted you'd be here. But, this is where I'd go, anyway. "

A small silence descended, and Ichigo's expression faded into its melancholic look that he had been wearing before Isaki showed up.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Isaki asked Ichigo, apparently addressing the large blossom tree that stood beside the bench. The tree tilted at an angle, as though it was trying to listen in on whoever was sitting there.

"I have to save her, somehow." Ichigo replied, and Isaki heard the determination in his voice beneath the frustration. Beneath the guilt. "But the problem is getting to Hueco Mundo."

"What do you mean 'I'?" Isaki asked, amused.

"Huh?"

"If you're going to ignore Soul Society's orders to go save Orihime, then I'm going with you."

"But, you-"

Ichigo looked up at Isaki, and she glared back at him. As their eyes met, Ichigo was struck by two things- the first being the stubborn way that Isaki set her mouth, because it reminded him alarmingly of himself. And the second thing was probably Isaki's most notable feature - her eyes. They were wide and were a deep shade of azure. Isaki's blue eyes met Ichigo's and he smiled, if a little sadly.

"I guess...you're right." He conceded. "Inoue was your friend too. And I don't think you'd listen to me if I tried to talk you out of it, right?"

"Absolutely not!" agreed Isaki, firmly.

She smiled and looked towards Karakura town for a moment, as though she could suddenly see what Ichigo had been looking at. It was edging towards sundown now, the sun tainting the buildings below a peachy-hue. The wind rustled the blossom tree beside them, and the trees all seemed to shiver, synchronized.

"Well, I guess I'd better get going." Remarked Isaki, after a long, quiet pause, making Ichigo start slightly. "I promised I'd drop by Urahara-san's after I talked to you. See how everyone is doing and everything. Plus Tessai-san wants to check my arm. I think he's worrying about nothing if you ask me..."

Ichigo's eyes drifted to Isaki's forearm, where a bandage was tied from below her wrist and almost up to her elbow. He looked away from it quickly. Then he nodded.

"Aa. Well, I'll see you later, Isaki-san."

Isaki nodded as well and stretched, leaning back and pushing her arms as far out as they could go, fingers splayed.

"Yeah, see you- GAH!"

Ichigo turned around, knees between the crook of the seat and back of the bench as he peered over the top of it.

"You okay?" he asked, feeling a glimmer of amusement.

"Y-yeah, fine." Isaki said, from the floor, looking slightly stunned from the impact of falling off the back of the bench and onto her back.

Luckily, the ground wasn't particularly hard, nor had the bench been a particularly high one. Isaki slowly got to her feet, brushing powdery dirt from her elbows. She was trying to look nonchalant, but Ichigo could see a tinge of magenta slowly spreading across her normally pale cheeks.

"Well, then." Isaki said, coughing. She turned and began to walk back the way she came, tilting her head over her shoulder and waving. "Ja ne, Ichigo."

Ichigo managed to smile back.

"Ja ne, Isaki-san..."

He paused, realized his habitual error.

"Isaki."

* * *

"What," Grimmjow growled, "exactly are we fucking waiting for?"

"This is not the same as last time, Grimmjow." replied Ulquiorra tonelessly, sparing a glance at the restless arrancar behind him. "Aizen-sama wishes for us to do this mission as quietly as possible. Orihime Inoue has been branded a traitor by the Soul Society by willingly leaving to save her pitiful friends. A similar method may not work twice. We wait for the girl and take her to Hueco Mundo."

Grimmjow snorted, almost defiantly.

"Not like those shinigami bastards could stop us, considering they get their asses kicked last time."

"Just because you had your arm and rank restored does not mean it cannot be taken away again, Grimmjow."

"You fucker-!" snarled Grimmjow, but Ulquiorra held up a hand.

"Wait. Look."

Looking into the gloom, Grimmjow's eyes picked up on a figure walking underneath a streetlamp just around the corner from Urahara Kisukes', an apparition in the gloom.

Apparently oblivious to the presence of the two Espada, the girl walked in a casual way, not in a particular hurry to get home. Watching her, Grimmjow could see that she had slightly messy dark purple hair, the feathery tips just brushing past her breasts, which were not gigantic but were certainly sizeable, evident by their straining against the vest top she was wearing. She wasn't exactly thin, but she had a lithe, wiry body that lacked the same womanly roundness that Orihime Inoue's did. She passed from beneath the streetlight again, and was again partially hidden by the shadows.

"That her?" grunted Grimmjow, tilting his head slightly, eyeing her as she walked

"She matches the physical description." answered Ulquiorra, also watching her. "But she could be just a human with above-average spirit pressure. I suggest we fake an attack and see how she reacts."

Grimmjow smiled, slowly.

"That's the first smart thing you've said all fucking day."

* * *

Isaki sighed.

Her admittedly small apartment was in her line of vision, but Isaki almost wished she had stayed at Urahara's. She had a tendency to brood while she was on her own, and Ichigo wasn't the only one upset about Orihime's departure. Isaki was close to Orihime- since the whole Soul Society incident, they had both been slightly overwhelmed by the suddenly eruption of their powers and all the strange things they had seen and done since then. It was hard not to like Orihime- her optimism and happy nature was infectious.

And Isaki and Orihime both understood something about each other that not many other people did.

What it was like not to have a family.

Feeling gloomy suddenly, and for good reason, Isaki fumbled in her pocket, hands groping for her keys. Her fingers touched the cool metal and she smiled at the slight jingle they have off as she pulled them out.

Then, without warning, she felt it.

She was being watched, and whoever it was definitely not a human. She could feel a reiatsu swelling from her left, like an oppressive cloud suddenly blooming above her. Trying to keep calm and pretend she couldn't feel anything, Isaki slowly reached her arm out, key aiming for the lock on her door, eyes sliding awayr and looking to her left, her heart suddenly beating loudly in her chest. Something glimmered in her peripheral vision.

She dodged it just in time. A blast of scarlet light came bolting towards her, an unnatural, almost mechanical noise accompanying it. Isaki leapt backwards, skidding slightly on her heels. The streetlight nearby exploded as the light hit it, a huge plume of flames bursting upon impact. The light immediately shattered, leaving Isaki in the dark.

Blinking in the sudden gloom, with only distant streetlights and the moon for a light, Isaki stared frantically into the distance. She used the key in her hand to prick her finger. A dot of blood welled up on the pad of her finger, and Isaki pressed the punctured digit to her palm, concentrating fiercely. The next moment, a silver object shimmered in her palm, taking shape and spreading out. Isaki held the sword in her hands, feeling the comforting cold weight of it. She scanned the darkness, pupils huge in the blackness.

"Interesting."

Isaki gasped in spite of herself. Whirling around, she saw standing there, eerily lit from behind by a distant streetlamp, an arrancar. The uniform he wore was white, and it seemed to almost merge with his deathly pale skin. Black hair escaped from beneath what looked like half a helmet, falling into the arrancar's most startling feature - a set of cat-like eyes, emerald green in color. Isaki found herself unable to stare straight at those eyes.

"Who..." began Isaki, then swallowed and licked her lips, mouth feeling dry."Who are you?"

"My name is Ulquiorra Schiffer." responded the arrancar, in a flat, emotionless voice. "You are Shirazumi Isaki?"

Isaki nodded, seeing no point in denying it. Something told her he wouldn't believe her if she said no. Her grip on the sword tightened slightly, her arms tensing, preparing to swing should he suddenly come at her. Her mind was screaming at her to run, try to dodge past him and get to Urahara's, but Isaki's legs were locked stubbornly to the ground.

"You are to come with us." Ulquiorra told her in a business-like tone of voice. "Do not try to resist."

"Us?" demanded Isaki, narrowing her eyes.

"That's right, woman." said a new voice, snidely.

Sensing the presence rather than actually feeling it, she whipped around yet again, Isaki nearly collided with the speaker. Looking up, she found herself gazing up at a man with electric-blue hair, a fragment of bone on the right side of his face, teeth pointed, like a cat's. Isaki backed away from him, her back moving towards the fence behind her, so both arrancar were in her eye line.

"You are wasting your time, woman." Ulquiorra told her, as the blue-haired arrancar sneered. "You are no match for either of us, let alone our combined forces."

"Yeah, like I'll just do exactly what you tell me!" snarled Isaki, raising her sword threateningly. "Where exactly are you planning on taking me?"

"Yeah, like we'll just tell you straight up." smirked the taller arrancar. "You'd better shut up and come with us, bitch."

His reiatsu surged ominously as he added, in a low voice;

"I don't think you wanna fight us."

"That's enough, Grimmjow." Ulquiorra told the blue-haired arrancar. He returned his attention to Isaki, eyes boring into hers. "We are taking you to Hueco Mundo, woman. The current location of Orihime Inoue."

"Or-Orihime?" gasped Isaki, eyes widening for a split second, betraying her tough facade.

"Yes. Aizen-sama has requested your immediate retrieval."

Isaki felt as though she had just been winded, realizing that now Orihime had no hope of being rescued. She had heard that Soul Society had branded her a traitor for leaving with the Espada- but if Aizen had ordered her kidnap, Orihime must have been forced to go. It was like a door had suddenly been slammed shut in her face.

Then Ichigo's determined face suddenly flickered in her mind's eye and Isaki's fist clenched around her sword.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Isaki screamed, her anger surprising even her, and she suddenly slammed the sword against the concrete floor.

A circle of lightning briefly surrounding her, bolts suddenly blasting up out of the floor, caused by the shockwave of the sword. Ulquiorra and Grimmjow (the latter swearing) were forced to jump back as the area immediately surrounding Isaki was demolished by the lightning. She raised her sword, pointing it at the two Espada, lightning dancing on the blade.

"You little-!" began Grimmjow angrily, when a shout suddenly ripped through the night.

"ISAKI?"

Isaki started at Ichigo's voice, chancing a glance to her left.

_Find me._

"We must hurry." Ulquiorra said, commandingly.

He stretched out a hand and seemed to tap the air in front of him. Isaki's mouth fell open slightly as the very air seemed to tear, a zipping sound accompanying it as the gaping hole revealed a black night sky.

Isaki had no time to move, when suddenly Grimmjow seemed to materialize in front of her. With a strange, angry triumph, he slammed his fist into her stomach. Isaki gasped as the breath was knocked from her body, the taste of blood in her mouth, and the next moment she was unconscious, the sword vanishing as her grip slackened. Grimmjow grabbed her before she fell, wrapping an arm around her waist and lifting her off the floor, holding her underneath his arm.

By the time Ichigo arrived, he was much too late. Ulquiorra and Grimmjow had already disappeared into the tear in the sky, and it closed up behind them, like a gigantic mouth. The only evidence that any disturbance had taken place was a still-buzzing streetlight stump and a huge crater in the ground, the fence behind it partially charred.

"Ichigo?" called a second voice. Urahara stood outside the house, half in shadow beneath the streetlight. He had followed the orange-haired shinigami when he sensed a strange reiatsu near Isaki's apartment and taken off to investigate.

"We were too late." Ichigo muttered, looking about the street with a sense of helplessness that he hated. "She's gone."

"Gone?" echoed Urahara, eyes widening slightly. "The Espada...they arrived so fast."

Ichigo's fist clenched by his side. He raised his eyes to the heavens, staring up at the sliver of the moon that hung over them, silent, watching.

"Inoue, and now Isaki. They've been taken to Hueco Mundo."

* * *

Incidentally, Shisainimiru means, "To look closely". Hopefully my choice of title will become clearer later on. :)

Reviews would be lovely. Until next chapter!

**Next Chapter: **The Initiation

_The wound felt hot, and the coppery scent of blood filled the air, and she felt that blinding, uncontrollable rage slowly leave her as pain, fatigue and relief seemed to swallow her up whole._


	2. The Initiation

Hey readers! This chapter is alittle later then I intended it to be, since I wanted to just re-tweak a couple of things, but I'm pretty satisfied with it now. (Also, was being REALLY annoying about italics.) The next chapter will be here a LOT faster.

Enjoy!

_____

* * *

___

_Welcome to the jungle,  
watch it bring you to your knees,  
I wanna hear you scream _

~ Welcome to the Jungle, (Guns N'Roses)

Orihime Inoue was sitting in her usual spot in her vast room- on the solitary patch of light that fell in sliver on the floor, disjointed by the bars that covered the tiny window. As though Orihime could reach the window in the first place, or that she had anywhere to run to even if she could.

But, Orihime was not thinking of her imprisonment or even of herself at all in that moment. She was thinking of an abrupt change that had taken place a few days previously, an event that had been circling in Orihime's mind ever since.

____

__

_Isaki-chan..._

Orihime lamented, her doe-like eyes widening even further as she gazed up at the moon, something she had taken to doing without really knowing why.

__

_I can feel her reiatsu, and it's strong...she must be close by, somewhere. _For the first time in a good couple of weeks at least, Orihime smiled and closed her eyes.

_I'm glad...I'm so glad she's all right! _

Just then, however, Orihime's reverie was interrupted by the sound of the gigantic door opposite from the window opening. Soft footsteps made the girl swing her head around, amber hair shimmering like a waterfall of dark honey.

Ulquiorra Schiffer's hands were in his, as usual, in his pockets, and he was eyeing Orihime in a way that, no matter how many times she was subjected to it, she just could not get used to. It was unsettling, like how a hawk might size up a mouse before deciding whether it was worth eating.

"I am going to assume that by your face that you are aware of the new human arrival, woman." Ulquiorra stated flatly, and Orihime blushed. Ulquiorra continued, showing no reaction as Orihime struggled to compose herself. "But rest assured, the arrival of Shirazumi Isaki means nothing, except that Aizen-sama has an interest in her abilities. You are still a tool to be used at Aizen-sama's disposal."

Orihime felt herself freeze, as Ulquiorra seemed to pin her to the spot with his emerald gaze. He always seemed to know just what she was thinking. She felt like she was lost in a snowstorm. Small, fragile, vulnerable. As though he could see straight through her.

"Is that understood, Orihime Inoue?" he asked her, in a low voice.

"H-hai." Orihime murmured, fighting the urge to shut her eyes, the impulse to hide from him.

Ulquiorra finally broke his almost hypnotic gaze and turned away, as though looking at Orihime for too long was burdensome to him.

"Good. Now hurry up."

He glanced carelessly over his shoulder as Orihime scrambled clumsily to her feet. She had no idea what she had done to warrant such a glare from Ulquiorra, but it certainly made her eager not to make the same mistake again. Ulquiorra turned away and headed for the door, adding, almost as an afterthought;

"Aizen-sama wishes to speak with you."

* * *

When she first woke up, Shirazumi Isaki hadn't forgotten the events that had taken place a few nights previously.

She just didn't believe it had actually happened, at first.

However, waking up in an unfamiliar bed with a mild bruise on her stomach confirmed that what she thought was a dream was in fact all too real. The room was white and cold, like she was trapped beneath snow. Slowly, Isaki sat up, lifting up an arm and rubbing at her face, feeling a slight pain in her stomach as her bruise was pressed. She glanced about the room, feeling disconcerted to see it was empty besides herself. It made her feel strangely vulnerable, because she had nothing to focus on besides herself. She was relieved to see that she was still in her own clothes, and the items in her pockets were still there. She pulled out a card from her pocket.

"Raja..." she murmured into the darkness, gently tracing the image on the front with her index finger.

The intricate pattern that surrounding the card, barring the picture and name beneath it, suddenly began to glow as Isaki spoke. The eyes on the drawing lit up, and a moment later, something began to form.

"Isaki."

The speaker raised its muzzle in the girl's direction. Glancing at Raja once, it would have been easy to mistake him for a large dog or perhaps a small big cat. However, that was only if it was a glance. On closer inspection, Raja was more a mixture of things. His fur, the colour of charcoal, gave Raja a strange appearance, as though he had been constructed from smoke. It seemed to drift around him, never fully settling. His physique was something akin to a large dog or cats, but his tail, ears and snout were all distinctly vulpine. His paws were large, larger then Isaki's hand span. Raja's eyes, however, put one in mind of a tigers.

"You've been asleep a while, you know." Raja informed Isaki, lifting his head, displaying the cream underside of his neck, the only colour on him besides his eyes.

"Yeah." she sighed, a feeling of both fear and humiliation swelling within her at the recollection of her capture. "So, this is Hueco Mundo..."

"You don't sound particularly surprised." Noted the spirit wryly, his tongue emerging from his mouth to like his paw in a distinctly feline manner.

"I've seen more surprising things than this." Replied Isaki, throwing back the covers and placing her feet on the floor unsteadily. "You should have seen the two who-"

Isaki was interrupted from recounting to her familiar the events of that eventful evening, because the door to the left slid open to reveal another Espada. Isaki could tell by the sudden shift of reiatsu in the room. Raja rose to all fours, golden eyes gleaming in the sliver of light. Isaki too stood, the white sheet slipping off her, which she pulled behind her as it fell.

"You're finally awake." announced the Espada. "We were beginning to wonder if you were comatose."

Isaki wondered who 'we' was.

The Espada gazed back at her, although it was not an expression of hostility. The Espada was female, with spiky blonde hair, some of it tied loosely into small braids. Golden eyelashes emphasized her eyes, which were the color that leaves turned at sunset. Tanned skin emerged from the arrancar clothes, and Isaki noticed (she would have to have been blind not to) that a good deal of her huge breasts were exposed.

"Who are you?" Isaki asked, saying the first question that came into her head.

"Tia Halibel, Tercera Espada." she replied. Her eyes shifted to Raja, but she declined to comment on his appearance. "You have been requested by Aizen-sama. He would like you to demonstrate your abilities. Please follow me."

Feeling wary, Isaki got to her feet and followed. She could hear Raja's nails clicking against the cold floor and found a strange comfort in the sound, thinking that at least she, even in this strange place, was not entirely alone.

"What do you mean, demonstrate?" Isaki asked Halibel, a touch nervously. Although Halibel didn't radiate hostility like Ulquiorra and Grimmjow had, Isaki was still wary of her. Halibel was, after all, an Espada.

"You will soon see." Halibel replied calmly, not sounding particularly irritated by the question. Isaki decided to prod a little further.

"What does Aizen want me for?" she asked.

"Aizen-sama has displayed an interest in your Summoning powers." Halibel answered, shooting Isaki a look that was difficult to decipher. "That is all you need to know for now."

Isaki sighed, but took that as her queue to keep her questions, for now at least, to herself.

* * *

"Dammit!"

The sand blasted upwards, like a gigantic beige tidal wave.

Isaki swore again, her feet pounding on the sand as she ran, feet moving frantically to stop them sinking into the beige ground. It hurt to run, but she didn't have time to dwell on the pain that was currently throbbing in her leg. The sun shone down on her fiercely- the girl was baffled as to how Hueco Mundo could simulate a sun with such accuracy when it was supposed to be perpetual night, from what Urahara had told her and the others about it.

However, right now she had more important things to worry about.

"So, what exactly are you planning on doing?" Raja called to Isaki, galloping with irritating ease beside her. "Summoning something other than that sword you're not using?"

"I'm working on it, smartass!" Isaki snarled, her temper flaring. "In between trying not to get trampled by Godzilla over there! Now give me a ride!"

Raja gave a bark that sounding distinctly like a laugh. Isaki stretched out her hand and grabbed the ruff of his neck. The next moment, as Raja moved closer to her, she hoisted herself onto his back, leaning forwards and directing her gaze up.

The arrancar that she had been, for lack of a better word, tricked into fighting was currently towering above her. Covered from head-to-toe in white armor, with a gigantic whip-like tail and claws, Isaki was feeling distinctly unprepared, to say the least. It didn't help that not only did the arrancar know the area and had apparently been forewarned about the fight, judging by his boasting comment earlier of, "This is...this is my chance to show Aizen-sama!"

What exactly he was 'showing' Aizen, Isaki wasn't too clear on. However, she knew that she too had something to prove with this fight- if Aizen didn't think she could hold her own against an one arrancar, he could easily lose interest in her. The fight had not exactly been in Isaki's favor- her leg was bleeding and she had been thrown about a bit before the arrancar had released. All the damage she had inflicted upon him at the beginning of the fight had been infuriatingly rendered irrelevant upon the arrancar's released state. It appeared that he had given up speed for size in that regard- so far, he hadn't managed to strike her once. But that didn't mean that she was prepared to stop running just yet- at least, not without a battle plan.

"Ne, slow down, Summoner!" roared the reptilian arrancar, lashing his tail and giving out a grating roar that made Isaki grit her teeth and wince. "It don't matter how fast you and yer pet can go! Sooner or later, yer gonna get too tired ta run!"

Isaki bit back a furious retort, because she knew he was right, as much as she didn't want to admit it. She glared up at the huge frame of the monster, when suddenly, an idea began to slowly form in her mind...

"Watch out!"

Next second, the enormous tail of the arrancar came whipping around to greet them, and Isaki felt the wind go tearing past her as the arrancar's attack made her fly from her perch on Raja's back, and a grunt was forced from her body as she slammed into a sizeable rock, which cracked. The sword clattered away, and Isaki dived awkwardly for it, just as the foot of the monster came crashing down, knocking her into the already-cracked rock behind her. Isaki gasped in pain as she heard a guttural chuckle follow the kick.

"Try this on for size..." the voice of the arrancar came drifting back to her, and it opened its mouth, a reddish light forming near the back of the throat. Isaki's eyes widened as realization struck.

_That's...cero!_

Isaki managed to throw herself aside at the last moment, before the crimson orb obliterated the rock behind her, temporarily cloaking her in a gigantic cloud of dust and sand. The arrancar looked confused, and it let out another screech as the sand stung at its eyes, actually making the huge beast stagger slightly, as its claws made it impossible for it to wipe the offending grit away.

Isaki wasted no time- she lunged for her sword, hefting it up from the sand, before rushing towards the shrieking arrancar and jabbing the weapon, as hard as she could manage without toppling right off balance. Blood spurted almost satisfyingly from the wound as Isaki drew her sword back, making sure to slice as much flesh as she possibly could upon withdrawal. Looking up, she saw that the wound had done exactly what she had wanted it to cause- the arrancar was so preoccupied with his injuries, he had forgotten temporarily that his opponent had recovered her weapon. He was busy alternating between screeching and howling, "Ya bitch, you goddamn human bitch!"

"Raja!" Isaki called, and the smoke-coloured spirit dashed towards her, knowing what she now planned to do.

Isaki ran towards Raja, jumping up at the last moment, and Raja, leaping onto his back paws and practically throwing her upwards.

Isaki knew she had one chance at this- otherwise, it was right back to square one. Lifting her sword high above her head, she pointing it downwards and tilted her upper body forwards. She plummeted back towards the ground, her sword aiming for the arrancar's neck.

There was a moment when she closed her eyes, reflexively, sure that she would miss. But then, there was a sickening crunch, and Isaki landed heavily upon a thrashing surface. For a few agonizing minutes, she had to cling on for dear life as the monster beneath her twisted and roared in pain, in a desperate attempt to throw her off. She thought that he would never stop, that the roaring would deafen her...

Isaki clung to the grip of her sword, lifting her head slightly and opening her eyes as the thrashing began to subside, to see herself kneeling upon the lizard-arrancar's neck, blood dying everything red, including the legs of her pants and her exposed skin. Isaki, licking her lips uncertainly for a second, decided that she was taking no chances. She sank the sword in as deep as she could make it go without wanting to retch, before twisting it sideways slightly and then releasing it, dried blood staining the blue-silver grip as she released it slowly, with shaking hands.

"Not exactly a graceful finish, but I think it's dead." Raja said, sitting on the sands a little way away from the body of the dead arrancar.

"Thanks." Isaki grunted, rising unsteadily to her feet, grabbing her sword and yanking as hard as possible, the sword easing out between the bone-like plates of armor between the lizard's head and shoulders.

Raja laughed as Isaki leapt from the shoulder of the arrancar, landing somewhat awkwardly on the soft ground nearby. She rubbed at her face with the back of her hand.

"How do you think we get out of here?" she asked Raja, looking around. "I don't see a door or-"

The last part of her sentence was drowned out, when something gigantic and white came rearing towards her. It seemed that the arrancar had decided that if it had to die, it was going to die trying to kill her. Isaki barely raised her sword in time to block the onslaught of teeth that suddenly was baring down upon her.

"What was that you just said, Raja?" shouted Isaki, over the terrible noise of teeth on metal.

"Fine, I take back what I said before!" he shouted, "Worry about this right n-!"

The spirit's instruction was cut short when the bloodied claw of the arrancar suddenly whipped from seemingly nowhere and sliced at him, knocking Raja back and giving him a deep, bloodied gash on the creamy-white fur on his chest.

Raja landed on the sand with a pained yelp as the little grains rubbed into the wound. Isaki, who had only seen a flash of red and white, suddenly realized what had happened. A surge of white-hot rage suddenly came coursing through Isaki, as though a dam inside of her had just been broken.

"You fucking BASTARD!" she yelled, her eyes widening with anger, and she lifted up her sword as the arrancar's partially-severed head began to slow down, and threw it with a growl of rage that seemed to rip through her throat, right towards the arrancar's eye.

It hit right on target. A disgusting ooze burst forth from the eye, and Isaki ducked to avoid the shower of blood and whitish-fluid that erupted from the puncture of her sword. She knew that she didn't have to worry about retrieving it now- it would vanish from there on its own and her rage her left no room for her to consider what would have happened if the sword missed.

However, her fury had left her blinded to the fact that one of the arrancar's teeth had jammed into her back. Isaki gasped shallowly at the stinging pain in her right shoulder. The wound felt hot, and the coppery scent of blood filled the air, and she felt that blinding, uncontrollable rage slowly leave her as pain, fatigue and relief seemed to swallow her up whole.

* * *

"Impressive, Shirazumi-san."

Aizen's voice seemed to appear from nowhere. Isaki, breathing heavily, looked up at him sitting on his throne, looking down with his disconcerting eyes. Once she had crashed to her knees, exhausted from the fight now that the adrenalin had worn off, a surprisingly soft-looking female arrancar had led her out of the artificially sunlit room and back to the throne room. From her attire, Isaki had vaguely deduced she was some sort of nurse, but decided not to waste her remaining energy to ask.

"I wasn't expecting him to actually release, of course." Aizen went on, ignoring the fact she hadn't responded. "I didn't think he'd become quite so desperate."

Isaki had no idea what Aizen was expecting her to say, but at least he seemed reasonably pleased with how things had turned out. He didn't even seem to care that she had gotten herself injured in the process. Perhaps he only thought it was 'impressive' because it hadn't managed to kill her, she reflected uncomfortably. Aizen glanced to the right, where figures were standing in the shadows.

"Halibel, come here."

The golden-haired Espada appeared silently, and if Isaki hasn't been expecting her to appear, she would have probably jumped from surprise at how she seemed to make virtually no sound.

"Hai, Aizen-sama."

"Please escort Shirazumi-san to the infirmary for the wound on her shoulder. And then she will need some new clothing."

Isaki glanced down at herself as Aizen said this, surprised. The left leg of her scuffed black denim pants had been torn clean off, making them now resemble shorts on one side, and she could see several bruises and cuts littering on various parts of her leg. Her right shoulder was also bare, a considerable portion of her shirt having been ripped clean off by the lizard-arrancar's fang earlier, although most of it was covered by her hair. She heard someone snicker as she glanced down and snapped her head back up, almost defiantly.

"Hai." Halibel murmured, and Isaki followed her as she turned and headed for the doors.

As Isaki walked past the other arrancar who had watched the fight, she avoiding looking at them directly in the eyes, instead gazing directly ahead of her, as though she couldn't see nor feel them.

Just as she was about to pass over the threshold, however, something shifted in her peripheral vision, and on reflex she glanced at it. And the first thing she saw was the Espada who had knocked her unconscious that night, leaning casually against the wall, his expression unreadable. Their eyes connected for a fleeting instant, and Isaki felt a shiver go all the way down her spine, her footsteps faltering just for a moment, as though she had suddenly gone into slow motion. The Espada's mouth slowly stretched into a smirk, and the moment was broken.

Isaki practically ran out of the throne room, turning sharply around, nearly chasing Halibel to keep up with her through the labyrinthine corridors of Las Noches.

Grimmjow, who hadn't pulled his eyes away from her, watched her disappear around the corner and a shadow fell over his face, but it didn't obscure his strangely sinister grin.

Ulquiorra, who watched Grimmjow silently for a moment, recognized that look. And it did not mean anything too promising.

* * *

Fun fact: Raja is actually loosely based on Inugami, a type of familiar spirit that took the form of a large dog and most commonly it carried out vengeance or acting as guardians on behalf of the owner.

**Next Chapter: **Envious Beings

____

_The pigtailed arrancar smirked. Her smile was twisted._

_"We're going to make that bitch wish she'd never come here."_


	3. Envious Beings

_He licked his lips  
Said to me  
"Girl, you look good enough to eat."_

~ Monster (Lady Gaga)

Grimmjow Jeagerjaques was bored.

He paced the labyrinthine halls of Las Noches, hands thrust deep into his hakama pocket, his eyes shifting about restlessly. Ever since he had had his rank restored by the human girl, he had been aching to fight, to do something to reaffirm his status. Butchering that smug, whiny little bastard Luppi had seemed like a pretty good place to start, but the Sexta Espada wasn't satisfied with such a quick, easy kill. He had mostly done it to test his arm out, but seeing the little fucker's eyes glaring up at him with a look of pure hate and fear felt damn good, especially when he had managed to return the _former_ barb right back at him.

Since then, however, the rush had inevitably worn off, and Grimmjow was back to stalking around Las Noches like a caged animal, looking for something to do. Or, more specifically, something to antagonize to take the edge off. But most arrancar were wise enough to keep out of his way, particularly when he was positively radiating that restless, volatile energy, threatening to overflow into bloodlust at any second. He could have always tracked down an Espada, but that usually ended up in Grimmjow getting into more trouble then was necessary. Normally, he would have gone ahead and done it anyway, but he just didn't have the energy. While he was definitely not afraid of Tousen, he knew that he'd have to watch his step with Aizen for a little while. It had shocked him as much as anybody else when Aizen told the human to heal his arm, and Grimmjow wasn't especially eager to have the experience repeated. Plus, he didn't need his debt to the bitch made any deeper.

Grimmjow sighed angrily. At least before, he always had his fraccion to amuse him somewhat, since he could order them to fight each other or him whenever he pleased. But they had all gotten themselves killed during Grimmjow's first trip to the human world. He took no responsibility for it- after all, they were the ones that followed him wherever he went, it was their own damn fault they couldn't handle a couple of Shinigami. He had no respect for arrancar who allowed themselves to be killed so easily.

Speaking of which...

Grimmjow suddenly thought of something that HAD managed to pique his interest recently, barring of course the vague promise of some war Aizen was always shooting his mouth about.

He hadn't originally planned to go and watch the "test" that Aizen put the Summoner through, but in the end, he had. It was partly due to him that she was there in the first place, after all, and that had been reason enough for him to watch. He wanted to see if Aizen had been right and hadn't just sent him with that bastard Ulquiorra to the Human World for some stupid human who did a good trick.

And he had been pleasantly surprised.

Granted, at first, she didn't start out as much, spending too much time dodging and pussyfooting around for his liking. But when she got going..._that's_ when it had gotten interesting. There was a rage, a spark in that girl that had translated well in battle. When she plunged her sword into the arrancar's eye... It was brutal. It was unnecessarily violent. It was a desperate move that would never have worked a second time.

And it had amused him.

When she returned, she was covered in blood, bruised and torn up. And yet she still tried to keep up a tough front that was so painfully obvious- to him, at least- to be a front...it made him smirk just thinking about it. That look that she had given him just before leaving the throne room was just a taster. She was just so fucking...

Breakable.

Suddenly, Grimmjow Jeagerjaques wasn't so bored.

* * *

"Come out, woman."

Isaki jolted slightly at the voice, startled. She hadn't heard Ulquiorra enter the room. It seemed like the Espada all had the uncanny ability to materialize from the shadows themselves. Sighing, Isaki glanced back at herself in the mirror before stepping out from behind the screen that had been erected all around her, with some reluctance. She had hoped that Halibel would be the one to take her to her 'room' - perhaps it was merely because the Third Espada didn't feel the need to unnecessarily try and intimidate her or begin giving her orders, but Isaki found that she didn't mind Halibel's company. Regardless of her level of power and stoic demeanor, so far she had seemed relatively pleasant, for an arrancar.

The arrancar clothes Isaki had been given felt strange on her skin. She had been given a modified version of the arrancar hakama, so they flared out significantly less, although white material covered the rest of her legs, much to Isaki's relief. On her top half, she was considerably less covered up, as she had on a shirt that ended somewhere between her midriff and her breasts, roundabout where her ribcage finished, two strips of fabric forming a white X over her stomach. Her collar split open in a narrow V shape, exposing a triangle of her throat and collarbone. Vaguely, she wondered who on earth picked these clothes out for her.

Ulquiorra surveyed Isaki for a moment, subjecting her to his eerily intense gaze, before turning away from her just as swiftly.

"Come."

He left the room without another word, leaving Isaki to hurry after him. Her clothes felt like denim before it was broken in, stiff and new. The shoes she wore were similar to Ulquiorra's own, and were in her size, but they still felt uncomfortable.

"Where are we going now?" Isaki asked, her voice echoing slightly in the spacious, forbidding corridor.

"Do not speak so informally, woman." Ulquiorra said, not bothering to slow down. "Aizen-sama has requested you are given your own room."

Isaki said nothing to that, but she couldn't prevent herself from shooting a glare at Ulquiorra's back, particularly irritated by the 'woman' remark. Deciding her best option was to distract herself, Isaki cast her mind out and it landed on Orihime.

Despite everything, Isaki suddenly felt a glimmer of hope. She knew that she couldn't do anything to really help Orihime in a place dominated solely by Aizen's whim, something that she was painfully aware of, but she thought it might at least provide Orihime with some comfort that she was now not the only human here. Isaki closed her eyes for a second, trying to detect Orihime's reiatsu, something she had never really had to think about doing before. Opening them, she felt it- a very faint trace, but there nonetheless. It was most definitely her. She didn't know anybody else with a reiatsu like that. Soft and strong at once.

Eventually, after going through seemingly endless corridors, Ulquiorra finally stopped. Isaki had been so lost in thought that she nearly walked into him, and only caught herself just in time. Ulquiorra glanced at her, and Isaki looked away from him. Ulquiorra had a strange expression on his face, as though Isaki had just confirmed something he had been waiting to see. Without speaking, he opened the huge door that blended in so well with the stone that Isaki hadn't even noticed it was there.

"Inside." he told her, and Isaki sucked in her bottom lip slightly to prevent herself from retorting.

The room was larger than the one she had left, which incidentally had been the very same room she had first awoken in since her arrival in Hueco Mundo. Aside from the furniture scattered around, it didn't seem all that different. It was fairly dark, although there was a small window high in the wall, the crescent moon peering through, like a sinister smile in the darkness. She couldn't help noticing the bars across the window, slicing the light into sections.

_They can dress it up however they like._ Isaki thought, staring for longer than necessary at the window, her throat feeling strangely constricted. _But I'm a prisoner here, and there's nothing they can say that changes that._

Isaki turned when she realized Ulquiorra was speaking.

"You are to stay here until you receive your first meal." he informed her in a business-like way. "Then you are permitted to leave your room. Any attempts to escape Las Noches, however, will result in your incarceration as a punishment. Is that understood?"

"Escape? Where to?" Isaki said, raising her eyebrows a fraction, a note of incredulity in her voice.

"Is that understood, woman?" Ulquiorra repeated, and somebody less stubborn then Isaki might have flinched at the distinctly steely note that had edged into his voice.

"_Yes_." Isaki mumbled, hoping that her rather brief answer would suffice.

It seemed to have satisfied Ulquiorra, because he merely looked at her for a second longer before exiting.

* * *

"That girl..."

The vehement hiss from Loly's mouth made Menoly wince, in spite of herself. The two of them sat in one of the lower chambers of Las Noches, where the lowly non-Espada arrancar often retreated. Loly's mouth was tight with anger, her one pink eye narrowed into a sliver.

"Loly..." began Menoly, but the black-haired girl was past listening to reason.

"Didn't you SEE the way Aizen-sama looked at her?" barked Loly, her voice harsh with resentment. "Fucking human whore."

"They say she's some kind of God." Menoly said, in an attempt to change the subject, thinking back to what some of the fraccion had been whispering about.

Loly snorted and tossed her pigtailed hair, but didn't deny it. Las Noches was a difficult place to keep secrets- once one arrancar knew something, rumors would spread like wildfire, usually mounting in momentum until the whole palace knew about it, whether they particularly wanted to or not. And Orihime Inoue's arrival had, up until recently, been one of the hottest topics around. The seemingly innocent-looking girl with the power to infringe upon God's territory, or so Aizen had apparently said. Menoly hated the sound of her- hated the way Aizen had spoken of her, praising her powers. But Menoly's disgust had been nothing compared to the jealousy that had flared up inside her fellow arrancar. The depth of Loly's emotions sometimes scared Menoly, not that the blonde was willing to admit it.

"We'll show her." Loly murmured, more to herself then Menoly. The blonde arrancar, however, suddenly looked thoughtful.

"That other human, though..." Menoly said, tilting her head upwards.

"What about her?" barked Loly, apparently displeased at the subject being turned away from Aizen.

"You don't think it's strange Aizen-sama ordered her capture as well?" Menoly asked, with a slight frown. "They say she has strange powers, too."

"Maybe." replied Loly, her narrowed pink eye flicking to Menoly. "But it's not _her_ that Aizen-sama keeps calling to his room."

Loly smirked.

"We're going to make that bitch wish she'd never come here."

* * *

Almost immediately after she had eaten, Isaki had pried open the gigantic door and left her room. She didn't like the idea being alone in there, even if it wasn't likely that somebody would slip in without her noticing. Something about the whole place made Isaki feel like she was constantly being watched- but at least outside of her room, she felt like she could at least look back.

Most of the corridors were as equally nondescript and deserted as the ones that she had walked through earlier whilst following Ulquiorra. It was off-putting, and rather irritating. Isaki wanted to make sure she could get back to her room quickly if necessary - although she hadn't officially met many of the arrancar in Las Noches yet, her current experience with them told her that being caught alone and lost would be incredibly stupid on Isaki's part, even if she did have Aizen's interest protecting her from being killed outright.

"Don't think much of his decorating skills..." Isaki muttered to herself, partly because it was true and it gave her amusement to say it out loud, but also because the silence was beginning to bother her.

It was a habit Isaki had developed after several years of living in an apartment alone- talking out loud, mostly to herself, in order to ease the silence. And it was a habit that she had tried- repeatedly- to break, but to no avail.

Isaki was contemplating this, when she rounded a corner and finally came across a corridor that was not identical to the others. She paused, staring down it, her curiosity instantly piqued. A narrow, rather tall window was embedded into the right wall, with a noticeably wide window-ledge, casting eerie shadows along the opposite wall.

Isaki quickly forgot about the window, however, when she observed the rest of the new corridor. To the left, a few feet past the window, there was a set of spiral stairs. They seemed to be leading upwards, and beyond that another blank stretch of corridor before it, before it rounded off into another corner, an intricate arc forming over the opposite end. Isaki had yet to see anywhere that seemed to be a dead-end in Las Noches. She peered at the stairway, legs automatically carrying her over to it, her feelings of both boredom and trepidation promptly being tossed aside. Isaki glanced up, tilting her head slightly to try and peer up the stairway, wondering where it lead. A slight smile tugged at the corners of her lips, the first hint of one since she had arrived there.

_Where the hell does this go?_ She thought, curiousity making her feel almost giddy. She ascended the first step, which seemed to be made of white marble. The bannister felt cool and smooth under her fingers.

"Heh."

The sound made Isaki freeze, instinctively. Slowly, as if it required a great effort to do so, she turned her head towards were the amused grunt had come from.

_He_ was sitting on the windowsill of the large, shadowed window. Even if half of him was in the darkness, Isaki recognized those eyes instantly.

Grimmjow's lips were stretched into an arrogant smirk, all the more so because he knew that she hadn't noticed him at all, and now that she was alerted to his presence, her guard was instantly back up. His posture was casual- arms folded over his chest, one leg dangling off the side of the windowsill, the other propped up in front of him. Electric blue eyes roved slowly over the girl's form, still looking rather incongruous despite her now arrancar clothes, particularly at her exposed skin. His smirk morphed into a rather mocking grin.

"_Nice_ outfit, woman." remarked Grimmjow, putting a sarcastic emphasis on the word. His eyes were half-lidded. "But then again, I guess it should be, considering it was made for ya."

"What- what are you doing here?" Isaki said, inwardly cringing at the fact she repeated herself.

"Could ask you the same question." replied the Espada, abruptly pushing himself off the sill and straightening to his full height. "What are _you_ doing, sneaking around? Wouldn't be thinking about doing something stupid like trying to run?"

"I wasn't _sneaking._" Isaki answered automatically, the words coming out defensive. She glanced up the stairway, looking for a distraction. "Where does this go, anyway?"

"Nowhere." came the reply, and Isaki jumped slightly- Grimmjow had taken advantage of her momentary distraction and was now standing right next to her. "Nowhere you should be going, anyway."

Isaki then made the mistake of shrinking away from him- it was instinctual, done without even being consciously aware of it. Grimmjow, however, noticed. A large hand fastened around her wrist, his grip tight, painful. He could feel the bones in her wrist shift beneath his grip. Fragile.

"I'm amazed they let you out of your little cage." Grimmjow told her, grinning slightly as he felt her twist, attempting futilely to get out of his hold. "After all, this is a _dangerous_ place."

He twisted her wrist for emphasis.

"Get off!" Isaki blurted out, the sudden increase of pain spurring her into action. "Get off me!"

Suddenly, the world seemed to shift. Isaki felt her back slam into something hard and she automatically jerked her head up, a harsh noise escaping her throat as the breath was damn near knocked out of her, while Grimmjow currently had his hand wrapped none-too-gently around her neck.

"Bitch." Grimmjow half-snarled, the cocky languidness gone. His eyes bored into face. "Don't give me fucking orders."

Isaki opened her eyes, staring down at Grimmjow, her breath coming out in harsh, quick pants. If he was expecting something from her, she didn't know what it was.

Isaki felt like he was pinning her to the wall by her very windpipe. She had grabbed his wrist automatically to try and ease the pressure, although her entire hand couldn't completely wrap around his wrist. Not the way his had utterly eclipsed hers. Her booted feet scraped the wall, trying to find a chink or ledge. There was none, and Isaki wasn't surprised- she had seen enough of the smooth, white walls to not expect it.

Grimmjow glared up at the girl, although he didn't squeeze any tighter, despite the fact her repeated squirms were pissing him off. In truth, the Sexta had not expected for the girl to just suddenly come wandering down the corridor- he had just picked it to rest by sheer chance. He was slightly incredulous that she hadn't noticed him until he had made himself known- it was like she had forgotten where she was, when she saw the staircase. Forgotten all about the potential danger she was in. Grimmjow had thought it only fitting to give her a little reminder.

He put her back down, slowly, enjoying the power he had over her as he did so. He could feel her pulse thrumming through his fingers, like an injured bird batting its one working wing. The moment her feet touched the ground, she started to struggle again, trying to pull free. The Espada didn't like that, her assumption that he would just let her go. He'd let her go when he damn well felt like it, and not because she was putting up a fight.

If anything, it made him want to toy with her a little longer.

Grimmjow squeezed Isaki's neck slightly- not too much, just enough to hear her breath hitch. Then his eyes lowered to her uncovered skin, going down from the narrow V in her collar to the exposed flesh of her midriff. The bruising there had not quite faded, and it looked particularly dark against the white of her arrancar uniform and Isaki's pale skin. Grimmjow pushed the fabric partially obscuring it out of the way with his free hand. His other released Isaki's neck as he did so and fastened around her wrist instead as she tried to grab his arm.

"You humans bruise so _easily_," remarked Grimmjow, his opposite hand tightening around her wrist. "I wonder how long it'll take for my mark on ya to fade completely?"

He gave her a sadistic grin, eyes boring into hers. Hers widened in response.

"Maybe I should give ya another one."

Isaki was about to reply, when suddenly both she and Grimmjow felt a third presence in the corridor. The blue-haired Espada glanced idly over his shoulder, eyes immediately narrowing as he identified the intruder.

"Ulquiorra." he muttered, voice laced with a combination of scorn and anger.

"Grimmjow, what are you doing?" Ulquiorra asked, without preamble, surveying the scene.

"Gettin' acquainted, what's it look like?" retorted the Sexta, sarcastically.

Ulquiorra didn't answer him; he just stood there with his hands in his pockets, gazing at both of them with his blank emerald eyes. Ulquiorra's silence spoke for him.

Grimmjow knew how it looked- one hand casually pushing away the lower half of the brat's shirt, the other having a vice-like grip on her wrist. He didn't know how much of their little conversation Ulquiorra had heard, but he also didn't particularly care.

He glanced back at Isaki. She was staring at Ulquiorra too, but interestingly, she didn't look the remotest bit relieved or even less edgy too see the Cuarto Espada standing there. In fact, her eyes had narrowed slightly. The expression on her face was strange- almost angry, but not quite. In fact, it seemed more fitting to suggest that her expression was one of defiance. When she noticed that he was staring at her, the expression seemed to fade and she looked away.

When it had just been the two of them, Grimmjow could practically _feel_ the fear emanating from the girl. But Ulquiorra's presence had diminished it, made her smother it. It was at that moment that Grimmjow understood something- she wasn't afraid of Ulquiorra. Not the way she was undeniably afraid of him.

At that moment, Grimmjow felt like a child with a toy- at first, he was only bothering with the brat because she was just something to amuse himself with. But the minute Ulquiorra displayed even the remotest interest in the girl at all, suddenly Grimmjow wanted to hold her out of his reach. _This is mine, and you can't fucking have it,_ he wanted to taunt.

"What do you want, Ulquiorra?" barked the Sexta abruptly. His voice adopted a sneer. "Checking up on me?"

"You have a habit of forgetting to control yourself, Grimmjow." answered Ulquiorra, evasively. His eyes briefly darted to Isaki, or more specifically, the fact Grimmjow had yet to let go of her. "The human should return to her room."

Grimmjow snorted as Ulquiorra took a slight step forwards and removed his hand from Isaki's stomach. The grip on her wrist, however, remained.

"Don't bother, Cifer." returned Grimmjow, with an aggressive smirk. "I'll do it myself."

Without bothering to wait for Ulquiorra to answer him- anything the Cuarto Espada said was likely to piss him off anyway - he walked off, yanking Isaki after him the way somebody might pull on the reins of a particularly rebellious horse. Stumbling slightly, Isaki hurried to keep up, knowing that there would definitely be more bruising on her arm within a matter of hours. However, even as she disappeared around the corner, both she and Grimmjow heard Ulquiorra's voice.

"Don't get carried away, Grimmjow."

The Sexta acted as though nothing had happened, but Isaki shivered. That had not been advice. It was a warning, and not a warning just for Grimmjow, either. It also was for her. It was a reminder for Isaki that she was trapped between forces much more powerful and ruthless then herself, and that she had no influence to stop it. Aizen only wanted her alive. The rest, it seemed, was up to chance.

Isaki thought of the implications of Ulquiorra's words and shuddered as she was pulled, mercilessly, in the grip of a monster.

* * *

It took my a while to word the ending of this chapter right, but I'm happy enough with it. Reviews, please! ^-^

**Next Chapter:** Breaking the girl

_The third slap knocked her to the floor, and she must have bitten down in surprise, because Ulquiorra saw, as he expected, a spot of blood on her lower lip. _


	4. Breaking the girl

__Hello readers! This chapter's up a bit later then I originally intended, but it had a few kinks that needed working out. (Figurative kinks, not literal kinks. :D) And also thanks for the reviews, I got more then I expected for the previous chapter. Keep 'em coming, I say! __

As always, enjoy!

* * *

_I hate to say it, but it has to be said  
You look so fragile as I fuck with your head  
I know it shouldn't, but it's getting me on  
If sex is the drug, then what is the cause?_

~ I almost told you that I loved you (Papa Roach)

Isaki was used to being her frequent habit of talking to herself, being by herself wasn't something that unsettled her like it often did other people, at least not to such a degree. It got lonely sometimes, of course, but being alone and lonely are entirely different things.

But being alone with a violent and unpredictable Espada was, to be blunt, fucking terrifying.

"Move," Grimmjow said, shoving Isaki ahead of him, once they had gotten out of earshot of Ulquiorra. "If you run, I will hunt you down."

Isaki stumbled a bit, rubbing her (probably) bruised wrist. Without thinking, she mumbled,

"I can't wait."

Next thing she knew, she found herself suddenly letting out a startled breath as Grimmjow grabbed her abruptly by the throat. He had this look on his face that reminded Isaki of Halloween pumpkins- all teeth and malice.

"Just because you mutter under your breath doesn't mean I can't hear you, you little bitch, so if I were you I'd watch your tongue. Unless you want me to rip it out."

"Tongue," Isaki said, without even meaning to.

He gave her a look, like he was trying to decide whether she was being insolent or not. Judging by her confused expression, he opted for the latter, and he slowly let go of her neck, letting his hand fall to his side. Isaki wondered if, after yet another threat made towards her, he'd let her go and she could find her way back to her room on her own. (Though by this point, she doubted if she'd get there without having some other unpleasant encounter.)

Suddenly, Isaki noticed Grimmjow was no longer staring at her- he was looking over his shoulder, and his body language was completely different to the languid stealth he had been exhibiting before. He looked tense, like an animal preparing to strike. His fists were clenched at his sides, his spine and neck suddenly rigidly straight. Isaki, without understanding why, could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. For some reason, this was even more unsettling then when he had grabbed her a moment ago.

Or possibly even preparing to run.

Then, without warning, he suddenly whipped around so suddenly that Isaki actually took a step back. His arm flew out and grabbed the collar of her shirt and yanked her towards him. His opposite hand hit a nearby door, hard, and he strode inside, pulling her in with him as though she weighed no more than a bag of sugar. The door slammed shut behind them, and the girl jerked at the noise.

"What the fuck-?" Isaki half-shouted, as she was enveloped in darkness.

"Shut the hell up!" Grimmjow hissed back, suddenly pressing his body against hers, forcing her back to the wall. "And don't. Fucking. Move."

He wasn't looking at her; he was just using his body to hold her in one place, one hand pressed against the wall next to her face. She could see the left side of his face from where she was, since he was still looking over his shoulder at whatever-the-hell it was that had made him shove both of them into what seemed to be some kind of closet in the first place.

Isaki felt her heart racing, and she tried not to let the side of her cheek graze the skin of his forearm.

_Well_. She thought,_ this is new._

In the almost stifling darkness, Isaki took her time in observing the man before her. The first two times she had properly seen him (that one time he had fought Ichigo didn't count) the encounters had been over very quickly, although usually they left her _plenty_ to think about afterwards. It was strange how..._human_his face looked from this angle. Then you saw the mask fragment on his cheek, and suddenly everything changed. And if you happened to look down, the gaping hole in his stomach just looked so bizarre, so completely unreal...it was amazing to her that people with a large chunk missing from their stomach or neck could walk and talk, much less fight the way she had seen the Espada do.

An eternity seemed to pass. Isaki was acutely aware of the sound of her own breathing- she wondered, for one irrational moment, if she would just be trapped in this tiny room with _him _forever. Although the logical voice in the back of her head pointed out that was not exactly likely, she was beginning to feel distinctly uncomfortable and almost claustrophobic.

"You have the dumbest look on your face right now."

Isaki jolted when she realized that she'd been so caught up in her musings that she'd utterly failed to notice that Grimmjow had now stopped looking out for whatever had made him make the decision to shut himself in a closet with her and was now staring down at Isaki with a somewhat mocking look.

"Are you-" he said, then he suddenly bent down slightly so he was _very_ close to her, his hot breath tickling her ear as his voice went even deeper, "-_scared?"_

Isaki felt like somebody had suddenly poured a bucket of sand down her throat- very hot sand, to boot. She could only stare up at him- although, for some reason, she didn't want to look directly into his eyes. She stared at the green markings beside his eyes instead.

"What makes you think I'm scared?" she replied instead, in a low voice, sounding a lot braver than she was feeling at that moment.

Grimmjow grinned.

Suddenly, Isaki let out a muffled yelp as Grimmjow- without even changing his fucking facial expression! - grabbed her left breast. No, it was more like he was jamming his hand up beneath it, fingers sinking into the pliant flesh. When she tried to wrench herself away, he simply pushed against her breast, pinning her to the wall with his arm.

"What the hell are you-?" Isaki began loudly, her face heating up as Grimmjow stared down at her. He grabbed her chin to stop her from completing the sentence.

"Your heart's beatin' so fuckin' fast right now," he smirked.

She stared at him for a moment, not expecting him to say that. She was actually expecting him to reply with something blasé like, _What the hell does it look like?_Or something. Grimmjow's thumb slowly slid upwards, now gliding up the generous curve of her breast. Even though it was shielded by her arrancar shirt and bra, Isaki could still feel it. And the odd thing was, it wasn't an unpleasant sensation either...there was a tingling spreading from her boob to the rest of her body, and her body felt hot, like she had spent hours lying in the sun.

A slamming noise from outside of the closet brought both human and arrancar back to earth, although Isaki was the only one of the two to physically react to the noise. Grimmjow snorted, amused at her skittishness. He took his hands off her finally and drew back. Isaki felt a peculiar sense of both relief and...something. She wasn't sure what.

Without speaking, Grimmjow turned and opened the door and stepped out, glancing up and down the corridor. He didn't seem particularly concerned that it was empty- Isaki supposed that he didn't need to interpret a lack of people around as a threat. It wasn't like anybody was going to be stupid enough to sneak up on him, after all. Isaki slowly emerged from the closet, feeling considerably confused and now more than a bit paranoid.

As she glanced down the corridor, Grimmjow spoke, his back still turned away from her.

"I don't feel like dragging your dumb ass around anymore, woman, so hurry up and get back to your cage before you get into even more shit." he said, brusquely.

Isaki glared at him, but was careful to keep the bitchiness out of her voice when she said,

"Just point me the way and I'm gone."

He glanced at her and jerked his thumb the way she was facing.

"Down there, to the right. Yours is the one with the big ass door." he said, like she was an idiot for not knowing.

Isaki grunted slightly to indicate she understood and began to walk off, happy to get out of there. As much as she hated to admit it, both Grimmjow and Ulquiorra had a point- she seemed to have gone through an awful lot of hassle for one measly wander out of her room.

Before she reached the end of the corridor, though, the Sexta's voice suddenly made her pause.

"Oh, and one more thing..."

Despite her better judgment, Isaki glanced back.

Grimmjow leered at her.

"Nice tits."

Isaki's mouth dropped open of its own accord- somewhere in the back of her head, she knew she really ought to have seen a remark like that coming, but it was different hearing it said out loud- and the sheer casual audacity of it made her freeze with surprise. Before Isaki could even take in a breath to speak, Grimmjow was suddenly _directly_in front of her. With a wicked smirk, he took promptly advantage of her shock and grabbed her sizeable breasts in each hand, squeezing them firmly.

"Fuckin' nice," he amended, almost thoughtfully.

Isaki mouthed soundlessly. She was in too much shock to even try and smack his hands away. After a second, Grimmjow let go as quickly as he had grabbed her.

"Better hurry," he told her, with a sinister grin. "Ya never know _what _you're gonna run into in a place like this..."

Isaki didn't need telling twice.

When she got back into her room (although she was so flustered it took her a minute to remember which way she was supposed to pull the door) she let the door close, then pressed her back against it, allowing herself to slowly slide to the floor, the coldness of the floor sending an icy nip up her legs. She was, to put it simply, distinctly freaked out. She could still feel Grimmjow's hands on her breasts like he'd left some kind of phantom imprint of them.

What disturbed her the most, though, wasn't that he had grabbed her like that in the first place.

It was that she'd _liked _it.

* * *

Kurosaki Ichigo gulped slightly as he sat across the table from a very unimpressed woman.

"So, what you're saying is..." said Maiha, taking a sip of her drink. "Isaki isn't even in this dimension anymore. That's what you're trying to tell me?"

Ichigo sighed. He knew that going to see Isaki's sisters wasn't going to be easy, but that knowledge did nothing to stop him from squirming around in his seat as she grilled him. He felt like a goddamn naughty child who was getting scolded by a teacher.

Shirazumi Maiha certainly had an air about her that screamed 'I'm better than you'. It was strange how much she resembled her younger sister, and so little at the same time.

For a start, her eyes were a steely grey, unlike her sister's lapis lazuli ones. Her hair was currently tied in an elegant yet simple knot in the back of her head, hair escaping it in blueish tendrils. But Maiha had the same jaw, same pale skin as Isaki did. Burgundy lipstick stained the edge of her glass as she set it back down on the table, her nails painted a pinkish-red.

"Pretty much," Ichigo mumbled.

"And you honestly expect me to believe it?" Maiha went on, arching her eyebrows.

"You can believe whatever you want," Ichigo replied, growing more and more uncomfortable. "But the fact is, that's where she's gone. But I'm going to get her back."

"Isaki's gone?" another voice suddenly chimed in.

Both Ichigo and Maiha turned to see Kanae, the youngest of the three Shirazumi sisters. She looked more like her absent sibling- although her eyes were a softer, baby-blue, and her hair was more lilac then purple, tied up in a long ponytail on the side of her head. She hovered shyly by the doorway upon noticing Ichigo.

"To another dimension, apparently." Maiha replied, but her voice seemed to soften as she addressed her sibling.

"Is it really that hard to believe when you and your sisters can see monsters?" Ichigo demanded. "Or when Isaki can talk to spirits? Or that you know about Soul Reapers?"

Maiha sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I guess not." She amended, quietly.

Ichigo sighed as well. He didn't mean to be impatient, but there was a tension in the air he wasn't really sure how to handle. Isaki and her older sister didn't exactly get on, and even though the former girl wasn't present, there was still an awkwardness that made Ichigo all the more determined to get her back- he was going to scold her good about getting kidnapped and leaving him to deal with all the consequences. Although he knew it was unlikely Isaki would listen to him in the first place.

Kanae's eyes looked shiny with sudden tears. "Isaki..." she mumbled.

"Don't worry," Ichigo said, automatically reminded of Yuzu, and his innate Big-Brother instincts kicked in. "I'll bring your sister back. I swear."

Maiha, glancing at Kanae, looked away, muttering quietly enough so the little girl could not hear, but Ichigo caught her words loud and clear.

"If it's not already too late, that is."

* * *

No more than a few hours passed when Shirazumi Isaki had another visitor to her room.

Isaki squinted in the abrupt sliver of pale light. She heard soft footsteps, and made an educated guess as to who it was.

Ulquiorra stood there quietly for a moment, his green eyes boring into her. Isaki remembered how he had done this- this standing and watching- the night she was abducted. That felt like such a long time ago, now. It pissed her off to think that. Isaki stared at Ulquiorra.

"You again, huh?"

* * *

Ulquiorra Cifer knew that there was a particular reason why he had been chosen in particular to guard the humans.

It wasn't simply that Aizen trusted him- he trusted most of his Espada to a degree, although he could see that Ulquiorra was a much more loyal soldier than some of his other warriors.

But Ulquiorra knew that it was his ability to tap into the minds of others, the way he could analyse others, that made him useful. With Orihime Inoue, such a task was hardly difficult for the likes of Ulquiorra. The woman was a seemingly never-ending fountain of emotion, and she couldn't hide a thing from him. It was almost too easy for Ulquiorra to get into the healer's head- her concern for her friends was pathetically predictable, in his eyes.

Shirazumi Isaki was barely any different, except that she had to be one of the most stubborn women Ulquiorra had ever encountered. Nevertheless, he could still see the anger and desperation in her azure eyes as clearly as though they were written on her pupils.

She stared at him defiantly as he spoke.

"Say it," Ulquiorra said, repeating words he had said before, to Orihime Inoue. "Say you only exist for Aizen-sama."

Isaki looked at him, expression almost regretful.

"No."

Ulquiorra's eyes flew open. With no pause, he raised his arm and delivered a slap to her face in one precise movement. However, she had taken him by surprise, which is why he decided to repeat the refrain. He hadn't expected her to refuse.

"Say it, woman." he commanded quietly.

Isaki's eyelids flickered.

"No."

Ulquiorra slapped her again, harder than before. She let out a noise, but stayed on her feet. Ulquiorra's gaze narrowed.

"This is your last chance."

Pressing her lips together for a moment, Isaki blinked and shook her head.

"No."

The third slap knocked her to the floor, and she must have bitten down in surprise, because Ulquiorra saw, as he expected, a spot of blood on her lower lip. One side of Isaki's face was flushed bright red, her cheek stinging from the combined force of all three slaps. Her other cheek was starkly white.

"I will return tomorrow," Ulquiorra said, walking towards the door. "If you continue to refuse to pledge your allegiance to Aizen-sama, your punishment will be much worse than that."

Isaki hissed under her breath as the door slammed, rubbing her aching cheek. She was enveloped in the dull blackness yet again.

She pushed herself into a sitting position, cursing repeatedly under her breath as she massaged her cheek. Her entire jaw ached, like somebody had been pounding at it with a hammer. The rest of her body was cold, so the heat radiating from her face was positively alarming. Her thigh was throbbing slightly too from where she had landed on it, but it was nothing compared to the relentless stinging on her face.

The worst part, though, was not the pain, but the fact that all Ulquiorra had to do was simply slap her in the face to be able to cause so much of it. And Isaki knew that that was practically nothing compared to what he could REALLY do to her, if Aizen gave the Espada permission to use any means he wanted to get her to swear to him.

_Bastard...!_ Isaki thought, helplessly, her hand balling into a fist. She despised this- the utter helplessness that was threatening to consume her. When she had heard Orihime was captured, all she had been able to focus on was how to get to Hueco Mundo. She had imagined Orihime would feel alone and scared, but the reality of it, the all-consuming fear and sense of power hanging over her head, was overwhelming. _How can we survive this? How? It's impossible!_

...

_No._

Isaki slowly rose to her feet, lowering her hand from her bright red cheek, staring straight ahead. Her eyes watered a bit, but she stubbornly blinked the tears back. _I can't. I have to stay strong...I can't let this break me._

She narrowed her eyes, determined.

_Fuck them._

* * *

"Ah, Ulquiorra."

As Ulquiorra entered Aizen's room (or, at least, one of them) he was slightly disconcerted to see Gin there, but you would never have been able to tell.

"Thank you for arriving so promptly," drawled Aizen. "Do you have a report for me?"

"Sir. I did as requested and attempted to force the human Shirazumi Isaki to swear loyalty towards you, as I have been doing with Orihime Inoue."

"And how did she respond to that?"

"She refused." Ulquiorra replied. "Orihime Inoue submitted immediately, but Shirazumi Isaki would not, even after physical violence was used against her."

"It is unsurprising." remarked Aizen, leaning back in his throne slightly, his tone light and thoughtful. "Orihime Inoue has abilities that infringe on God's territory, and they are powerful, but she is not designed for combat. Shirazumi Isaki, however, is. In fact, I would have been surprised if she had immediately complied."

Aizen said this rather gently, as though he was concerned that Ulquiorra might be offended, but there was that underlying tone of laconic amusement in his voice.

"What do you suggest, Aizen-sama?" Ulquiorra asked him, his tone quiet.

Aizen smiled lazily.

"Leave her alone, for now." Aizen answered, absently touching the edge of his chin with his fingers. "Her allegiance is not an immediate matter. She knows perfectly well with whom the power lies here, after all."

"Hai."

Aizen smirked.

"However, there is something I would like you to do..." 

* * *

**Next Chapter: **The Prettiest of Playthings

_"I think," he said, moving towards her in a way that was both stealthy and ominous, smile like a fresh scar. "It's time you and I got to know each other a little better, don't you?"_


	5. The Prettiest of Playthings

Hey, readers!

First of all, let me say how sorry I am that I haven't updated this story in so long! There have been several contributing factors to this, though, mostly involving university obligations that you no doubt aren't that interested in. Also, I've kinda of lost interest in Bleach since I last update, but I've gotten a bit interested in it again and I haven't been able to RP it or anything, so this is my Bleach release. However, to make up it up to you guys (the seven of you, anyway), this chapter is over 6,000 words. For me, that's LONG. XD

Enjoy! 

* * *

_Sometimes the curiousity can kill the soul but leave the pain,  
And every ounce of innocence is left inside her brain.  
And through the looking glass we see she's painfully returned,  
But now off with her head I fear is everyone's concern._

~ Her Name Is Alice (Shinedown)  


* * *

Sometimes, being a Summoner really, really sucked.

Isaki's ragged pants tore through the still as she half-knelt on the cold marble floor, holding her arm and staring intently ahead of her.

Watching her with a pair of yellow eyes like glowing goals in its face, the spirit slowly lowered the club-like weapon it held in one smoky black hand. Its fire-like spines flickered like real flames, making shadows dance across the room.

Isaki did not know why this particular spirit had chosen now, of all times, to track her down to challenge her to a fight, but she accepted anyway. It was not like she had something better to do. Besides, she was just too stubborn to turn down a challenge like this, and she knew it. And evidently, the spirit had known that too. The room Isaki had been inhabiting in was demolished- there were scorch marks on the floor, walls and the powder blue sofa in the main section of the room, and Isaki's arrancar clothes were singed in a few places. It was hard to tell how badly the fire-spirit was injured, but judging by the quantities of steam pouring from various patches on its scaly, coal-colored body, it was definitely hurt. There was something vaguely reptilian about this spirit, like a komodo dragon that had learnt to walk on its hind legs.

Such was a condition of her abilities, though. If Isaki wanted to make a bond with a spirit that allowed them to combine their powers with her own, more often than not they demanded she proved herself to them. Often, like now, she was forced to fight them. Other times, they wanted a different kind of tribute, like blood or something to seal the deal between them. Isaki didn't really know what the deal was with spirits and human blood, but it was a practice that dated way back in the art of Summoning, and she supposed a little finger prick wasn't too much to ask. Of course, there were times she couldn't always win the fights. Sometimes, she couldn't give what was asked. Irrational though it was, she hated it when she failed at that.

"That looks bad, Isaki." Raja commented, breaking her out of her musings. Isaki exhaled slowly.

"Yeah...it stings like a bitch."

They were talking about a patch of charred skin on Isaki's upper arm. It glinted disturbingly in the light, and Isaki knew that the spirit's last fireball it had thrown at her had scorched through at least two layers of skin, and each minute it felt like someone had poured something spicy over the wound, making it pulsate with pain. She groaned softly.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps and flinched as the spirit approached her. However, it was not moving in the strangely dance-like way it had when it attacked her, so she relaxed slightly. The spirit held out what she vaguely supposed was its hand, and Isaki found her own hand stretching out, palm up, almost automatically.

Gently, the spirit placed, in the center of Isaki's palm, a small, square object that looked like a pale grey stone. She blinked in puzzlement, and then turned her quizzical gaze upon the spirit. It said nothing, not that she had been expecting it to speak. Raja suddenly growled quietly, and the spirit made an odd, distorted noise like a hiss in return.

"He says its medicine." Raja translated.

"He just battled me and now he's giving me medicine?" Isaki repeated, incredulously. "What kind of twisted logic is that?"

Raja growled again, and the two had a short conversation, during which Isaki could only stand there, bewildered, although she did note with some dismay that she was beginning to sweat with the proximity of the spirit.

"He said that 'his kind' have healing properties in their scales. He said you should use it wisely, when it's really needed."

"I suppose possibly having a third degree burn doesn't count?" Isaki asked, sarcastically.

Raja let out a bark of laughter.

"He also said thank you for a good battle."

Mustering up the last of her resolve, Isaki put on a slight smile, turned to the spirit, and gave a bow. It was the best she could manage under the pain, but the spirit returned the gesture with a lot more dignity then she had, and then it vanished, rippling away like a mirage in the desert.

"...Cool." Isaki breathed, stretching out her free hand as if to touch the flickering air before her, but by then it was too late.

"Better keep the scale in your pocket." Raja warned. "You don't want that Ulquiorra bastard confiscating it."

"Yeah," Isaki sighed, slipping it into one of the voluminous pockets of her hakama. "Man, it's like I'm in prison."

"You are." Raja reminded her, and also he tried to say this as neutrally as possible, he saw her stiffen.

Isaki chose not to reply to this piece of blunt truth, even though she already knew this was a prison, hearing it hit her harder then she had expected it to. She gently touched the patch of raw skin and bit back a squeak of pain, her index finger coming away slightly bloody.

"I guess I'd better go to the infirmary, wherever that is." she said. "Even that damn Ulquiorra can't exactly punish me for getting my injuries treated."

As the purple-haired girl then headed purposefully for the door, Raja heaved a sigh of his own.

"First time for everything."

* * *

Grimmjow tutted to himself as he rubbed a smattering of blood off his chin with his knuckles. The unfortunate arrancar he had ambushed lay at his feet, twitching feebly, but they made no move to get up and escape. Trash like that wasn't even worth finishing off, so Grimmjow merely sneered and walked off, letting the miserable creature decided for itself whether or not it wanted to try and save its stinking skin.

Really, he didn't know why he was even bothering picking on the useless mongrels that wandered these halls. There was only one fight he wanted and that was Kurosaki, and he doubted if anybody else could give him the challenge that the bastard Shinigami could. Ulquiorra wouldn't, that's for fucking certain. The fourth Espada was just too damn prissy to actually fight him, thinking that it was beneath his dignity or something. Grimmjow sneered to himself. What a joke. He was convinced that the only reason the poker-faced Espada even held the position of fourth was all the ass-kissing he seemed to do. How he longed to crack that expressionless mask of Ulquiorra's and see whether or not the pale arrancar had anything to hide.

As he paced, he suddenly heard a shrill voice. He paused, his keen hearing allowing him to pick up every word perfectly.

"...I don't get it, Ulquiorra." Nnoitra complained, and Grimmjow could actually _hear_ his tongue flicking out. "How is it that you get to be the one to train _both_of Aizen-sama's pet humans, huh? Why doesn't he leave one of 'em for someone else?"

"Likely because he knows perfectly well what the likes of you would do." Sniffed Ulquiorra, in that maddeningly superior way of his.

Grimmjow stuck out his own tongue in distaste. While he was loathe to agree with Ulquiorra, the blue-haired Espada did at least have _some_principals. Even though both he and Nnoitra were as blood-thirsty as the other, Grimmjow didn't really understand Nnoitra's obsession with overpowering those weaker than him in that way.

"You're such a boring bastard!" Nnoitra declared loudly. (That, Grimmjow could wholeheartedly agree with.) "What's tha point of bein' given a reward like that without having some fun?"

Grimmjow didn't need to be able to see him to know Nnoitra was smirking, and he grunted with irritation.

Nnoitra's fraccion was a prime example of his and Grimmjow's differing ideals; Tesla followed Nnoitra around like a little dog, wearing an eye patch over one of his perfectly functional eyes and generally treating everything his master said as law. Grimmjow would have quickly been irritated by this; Shawlong and the others always obeyed him, certainly. He wouldn't have tolerated anything less than absolute obedience, but he did at least acknowledge his subordinates as individual people and gave them some freedom, even if that meant they all ended up dead.

They chose to follow Grimmjow and his ideas on things, but he preferred a little fight to just blind following. Where was the fun in having someone like that around? It was the same with women. It wasn't like there was a shortage of easy arrancar chicks floating around, but Nnoitra wanted to corrupt the healer girl, wanted to take her purity and twist it beyond all recognition. And now, from what Grimmjow had heard, apparently the Summoner had also caught Nnoitra's lone eye.

For some reason, this pissed him off.

He didn't really understand why.

But as Nnoitra prattled on to Ulquiorra about what he would be doing if it was _him _put in charge, Grimmjow could feel his temper building.

The fact was, the Summoner was entertaining. The chick attracted trouble like a magnet, seemingly, which was probably helped along by that loud mouth of hers. She sucked at hiding her emotions, too. What kind of warrior did she expect to be when you could read whatever she was thinking in those big, blue eyes?

It did make him curious to know what sort of secrets lay beneath the surface. Even people who wear their hearts of their sleeves have something they're holding back from the world. He saw the way she reacted when her weird dog-thing got injured. He briefly imagined her writhing beneath him, the perfect toy to play with. He could imagine using her friendship with that fucker Kurosaki against them both- maybe he'd hold her hostage for a little while, let Kurosaki sweat while he thought of his precious nakama suffering at the hands of the enemy.

Maybe as Kurosaki lay dying at his feet, Grimmjow would tell him he was going to keep the girl to do whatever he wanted with. Maybe he actually _would_. He grinned maniacally as he imagined grabbing the bitch and pressing her body to his and kissing her forcefully, his hands palming her tits while she writhed in his grip, too stubborn to give in but not powerful enough to stop him.

And he'd be damned if he let Nnoitra snatch a victory like that from underneath his nose.

Suddenly feeling angry and bored of the whole thing, Grimmjow took off in the opposite direction he had been walking. Maybe he'd leave the Las Noches for a bit and go through the desert for a little while, find some wild Adjucas to take his frustration out on. If questioned, he could just lie and say he thought he detected renegade arrancar.

After all, he didn't want to get rusty for Kurosaki's arrival.

* * *

"That's cold!"

Isaki shuddered as the plainly-dressed arrancar dabbed at her burn wound with a small swab, using a white paste-like material and spreading it at each corner of the burn. Isaki had almost been tempted to try and use it as an excuse to see Orihime, but she knew that her red-haired friend's room was heavily guarded, and she didn't feel like somebody giving her another burn to match the one she already had.

"My apologies, Shirazumi-sama." the arrancar murmured, not meeting her eyes.

Then again, she supposed it would be hard to meet someone's eyes if her fringe totally covered the upper half of her face like that.

As the nurse-arrancar rolled a clean white bandage around the wound, her touch incredibly gentle, the door opened, and Isaki instinctively lifted her free arm to shield her eyes from the light.

"Ah, Ki-chan." hummed Gin, his ever present smile plastered across his face. "I've been lookin' fer ya."

"Oh...really?" Isaki said, a bit alarmed by this comment, but she instantly felt suspicious.

"Mmhmm." Gin replied, gliding into the room, silent as a ghost. "Oh, my. What happened to yer arm, Ki-chan?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." Isaki answered, not really wanting to get into an explanation as to why random spirits sometimes materialised out of thin air specifically to try and kick her ass.

Gin said nothing to that. He merely stood there for a second, as if weighing his words. And although his eyes were still, as always, shut, Isaki felt like he could still see her.

"I think," he said, moving towards her in a way that was both stealthy and ominous, smile like a fresh scar. "It's time you'n I got to know each other a little better, don't you?"

"Got to know each other better?"

Isaki wished she could stop repeating everything people said to her, but it was an automatic response.

"Mm," Gin replied, and the girl froze as he lifted a hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear. "Tonight, how 'bout you and I have somethin' to eat, hmm? I'll send for you tonight."

"But I don't-"

"Oh, don' worry." Gin hummed. "I'll have someone walk ya to my quarters. It'll be my treat, Ki-chan."

_That's not what I'm worried about!_ Isaki thought, wildly. _And what does he mean, "his treat, anyway"? It's not like he actually has to pay for the food around here!_

"I'll let you finish up here." Gin told her, and for some reason, the girl had the distinct impression that if he had his eyes open, he would have winked at her. "Ja ne for now, Ki-chan."

With that, Gin left as abruptly as he had arrived, and Isaki was left, yet again, in the relative darkness of the infirmary. Sitting on the bench still, with the arrancar nurse hovering uncertainly beside her, as though waiting to see if Gin suddenly came back, all Isaki could think of to say was,

"...What the hell?"

* * *

Isaki did not trust Gin.

It wasn't just the way he spoke, all implications and mysterious hinting. It wasn't even the way he was constantly smiling that snake-eyed smile. There was just something about him that screamed of deceit and danger, like a coiled cobra just waiting for you to get close enough. Even Matsumoto hadn't been able to deny that Gin was tricky, and she once told her that she had known Gin since she was very young.

Despite this, though, Isaki found herself intrigued by Gin's invitation. The problem with him was that you could never quite be sure what he was thinking or whether or not he  
was acting on orders or of his own accord. With, say, Tousen or Ulquiorra, it was much more clear cut.

But she knew, regardless of her own personal feelings, she would be going to this 'arrangement' he had mentioned to her. After all, she was in no position to refuse, and angering Aizen's right hand man didn't bear thinking about.

"You want me to come with you?" Raja asked, looking up from the light grooming he had been doing on his large black paws.

Isaki sighed.

"No." she said. "Well, yes, I would, but he made it pretty clear he just wants it to be the two of us. Alone."

Raja growled slightly.

"If he tries hurting you..."

"I don't think he will, Raj. Remember that as long as Aizen wants me around, I'm not dead yet. Besides, if Gin wanted me hurt, why organize a whole dinner? Why not just skewer me with that Shinso of his and have done with it?"

Raja merely grunted and rest his head back on his paws, obviously mulling this over. Isaki watched him, thinking but not saying that even if Gin did attack her in some way, there was little her companion could do to stop him. She didn't want him getting hurt again. There was not a lot Isaki could do whilst trapped behind these marble walls, but she was determined to protect the friends she did have in here.

* * *

Isaki observed the lush display before her, thinking. It seemed an excessive amount of food for two people, but she wasn't about to complain about it. She felt fairly confident that Gin wouldn't have tampered with any of it- there was too much danger that he could eat something by mistake. Besides, why give her a serum when there was so much more fun to be had out of mind-games?

Paying no thought to _where _this food came from (indeed, there were some mysteries in Las Noches that were almost too strange to contemplate.) Isaki sat down opposite Gin.

"So..." she said, awkwardly. "What's the occasion?"

"Just felt like company this evenin', Isaki-san." Gin replied, calmly.

"Right..." Isaki said, resisting the temptation to roll her eyes.

"Sake?"

Isaki looked up. He was offering her _alcohol_? Why would he do that? Was he planning to drug her?

"Sure," she heard herself say, much to her horror.

_Sure? What's wrong with me? 'Hey, sure, why not? Let's get plastered! Yeah! Then you can pump me for information on my friends' weaknesses and me being the drunken idiot that I am, I'll just go ahead and blurt it all out for you!'_

But even as these thoughts entered her mind, she found herself lifting the cup to her lips and sipping at it anyway. It tasted just like a regular one, and she finished it rather quickly. Gin was helping himself to some dango and didn't pay much notice as Isaki lifted the jug between them and poured herself some more sake, her eyes fastened to the trickle of liquid.

Gin watched Isaki as she sipped nervously. Well, looked like _someone_had a bit of a weakness for liquor. Gin himself didn't drink all that often. He liked watching people who were drunk, though, it was endlessly entertaining.

"So, you said you wanted company." Isaki suddenly said, a bit more loudly then was really necessary. "Why did you pick me to come here?"

Gin grinned slightly.

"Ain't it obvious, Ki-chan? Yer the newest addition here in Las Noches. It would jus' be bad manners if we weren't ta show ya some hospitality."

_That's a laugh. I suppose hitting me in the face repeatedly until I swear loyalty to Aizen is being ignored._

"Did you invite Orihime here too?"

If this was showing weakness, Isaki suddenly found she didn't care. She stared at Gin intently as if she could pry an answer from him with her gaze alone.

"No," Gin replied easily, making her start slightly. "Aizen-sama personally wanted to spend some time with Hime-chan."

"Aizen..." Isaki echoed hollowly, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

If Aizen himself was working on Orihime, then there was no telling just how badly she could be damaged in the space of time between her abduction to Isaki's own arrival.

"Ya miss her, ne?" Gin said, although it seemed to be a rhetorical question. "Well, I expect ya'll see her soon enough."

Isaki looked up sharply. If she didn't know better, and if Gin hadn't sound to offhand and matter-of-fact when he said it, then that could easily be interpreted as a theat.

"Ya don't need ta look so suspicious, Ki-chan." Gin chuckled slightly, but the comment had the exact opposite effect on the girl staring at him.

"Stop calling me that." Isaki mumbled instead, picking up a riceball and eating without really tasting it.

"Gomen, gomen." Gin said, airily. "Won't happen again."

Isaki grunted and took another sip of sake, just for something to do with her face.

"Y'know, Isaki-chan, it seems strange that a girl like you ended up fightin' against Soul Society for a li'l while." Gin remarked, casually, twirling a sake cup in his long fingers. "Considerin' the relationship yer Ancestor had with it an' all. Why is it ya decided to go with Kurosaki-kun and th' others in tha' first place? Ya didn't even know Ru-chan all that well, right?"

Isaki tilted her head to one side in slight confusion, especially the ancestor comment, but she supposed it was a reasonable enough question.

"I guess...because I felt like I had to go." she admitted, sucking soy sauce off her thumb. "I mean, I was never friends with Kuchiki, but Ichigo and Orihime and the others...I thought they were biting off a lot more then they could chew. And even if I am just one person, I thought I should tag along anyway."

She half-smiled.

"And it's not every day you get to do something like that. I mean, up until recently, I was supposed to be just an ordinary human."

"Ya've never really been all that ordinary, though." Gin pointed out calmly. "Have ya?"

Isaki sighed deeply.

"I suppose not."

For some reason, she had a feeling that this was going to be a _long _evening.

* * *

"Um, Ulquiorra-san..."

Ulquiorra paused as Orihime's tentative voice reached him. He stopped walking, but didn't acknowledge her statement verbally.

"...Lately, I've noticed some girls standing near or outside of my room." Orihime told him, her voice still uncertain but she ploughed on. "Do you know who they are? They seem to want to talk to me about something..."

Ulquiorra glanced at her.

_Of all the stupidity._Thought the emotionless arrancar.

Indeed, the Espada simply could not fathom the redhead's idiotic concern with everyone around her. Even though he was confident that the psychological traps that had been lain out for Orihime Inoue had worked, she still seemed to forget the fact that she was literally in the land of her enemies. For her to behave as though the two lowly females Ulquiorra had detected trying to sneak into her quarters as anything less than a threat was pure stupidity, as far as the stoic arrancar was concerned. Still, it was another thing that fascinated him against his will about the human; she was unafraid of the strangest things. For a creature born of fear and despair, this was nothing short of bizarre.

"It is of little concern to you." he told her.

"But-"

"They are lowly arrancar and of no consequence to Aizen, or you. They have no business being anywhere near you. As a tool for Aizen-sama, you have no obligation to concern yourself with creatures such as them."

Orihime flinched visibly, both at being referred to as a tool for Aizen, and of Ulquiorra speaking of members of his own race so callously.

"I just thought...they stare at me whenever I am sent to go see A-Aizen-sama."

Ulquiorra knew why they stared. A vibrant creature like Orihime Inoue was bound to attract the attention of even the most reclusive arrancar. And for jealous creatures like Loly and Menoly...

"You are to report to me if they enter your room." Ulquiorra suddenly ordered.

Orihime looked slightly surprised, her grey eyes widening, and Ulquiorra found himself drawn to the way the light refracted across them.

"Is that understood?" he said, when Orihime yielded no further response.

"Y-yes!"

"Good."

With that, Ulquiorra quickly left, trying to push all thoughts of the strange human from his mind.

The trouble was, she was rather stubborn about staying there.

* * *

The tabletop that had been previously bulging with food was now merely scattered with empty boxes and some grease-stained chopsticks. After lightly quizzing Isaki on various, seemingly inane topics, the girl had a vague suspicion that he was gearing up to pierce through her meager defenses and ask something much more important.

And the problem was, she was pretty certain that she wouldn't be able to come up with much of a lie.

"Ne, Isaki-chan..."

"Hmm?"

Gin titled his head slightly, silver hair gleaming slightly in the oddly bright light of the room.

"What's yer worst memory?"

Actually, make that completely certain.

Isaki smiled, vaguely, without really understanding why. She felt warm and distinctly light-headed.

"Hmm...I guess..."

She frowned for a moment, thinking.

"I guess that'd be when I got this."

Here, the girl turned her head and lifted up her hair, exposing her right ear to Gin.

Gin's smile faded very slightly as he looked at it. Isaki's right ear had a long, slightly diagonal scar running across it, some of the outer shell of her ear rendered as somewhat jagged, like it was serrated. The scar was obviously old- it was faded into pale, slightly zigzagged line that stopped just short of her ear hole, although seeing the overall ear for the first time, the damage was the first thing that you noticed.

"My, that's impressive." Gin said, after Isaki let her hair fall back into place. "However didja get that, Isaki-chan?"

"A dog attacked me when I was young," Isaki replied, swallowing slightly.

_I don't care how drunk you get me,_ Isaki thought to herself, watching as Gin continued to smile pleasantly. _I'll never tell you, or anybody else in this hellhole, how I REALLY got my scar. It's none of your damn business._

"All I saw just before it happened was teeth..." Isaki mumbled, but it came out like, _"Alla saw jyst behfore it happ'ned waz teeth."_

"Guess ya must not like dogs much, Isaki-chan. Well, 'cept yer little pet one, o' course."

"He is not a pet. He is my familiar." Isaki said, feeling slightly indignant. "And he's not a dog, either."

"Silly me."

A silence fell. If Isaki hadn't been so tipsy, she probably would have cottoned on to the fact that Gin believed her story just as much as she did, if not less. Then, the girl suddenly flicked her eyes to Gin.

"Say...can I ask YOU a question, Gin?"

Gin's smile widened slightly. Now this was interesting.

"O' course."

Isaki propped her chin on her palm.

"Do you miss her?" a pause. "Rangiku, I mean."

Gin's smile faded. For a moment, he was taken completely off guard. That was not something that happened very often for Gin Ichimaru, and because of this, he found himself answering the girl honestly.

Well, that, and he knew that the only thing about the exchange she would be taking away the next day would be a headache and nausea.

"I s'pose I do." he said, softly.

Isaki nodded. Her eyes looked half-lidded.

"That's all I wanted to know."

* * *

"Ah, Gin."

Aizen greeted Gin calmly as the silver-haired ex-shinigami approached, hands folded into his sleeves as usual.

"And how did your little get-together with Shirazumi Isaki go?"

"It went well, I think." Gin replied, lightly. "A girl like that...makes ya kinda curious. I ain't ever met a Summoner before, ya see."

"Of course," Aizen answered, his fingers idly tracing the smooth marble beneath them. "And did you find out anything interesting?"

"I asked what her worst memory was."

"Oh?"

"She said a dog bit 'er." Gin shrugged. "Obviously lyin', though."

Aizen smiled.

"Yes, I thought she might." he said. "That was a rather personal question, Gin."

Gin chuckled softly. Even though he had not been ordered to do anything with the Summoner, he had enjoyed their little meal together. She had a certain plucky bravado that was not dissimilar to Rangiku, although of course nobody could compete with his beautiful Ran-chan. Even her lie about what had damaged her ear amused him- Gin being a practiced liar himself could spot one as easily as a dog can sniff out meat. But he was entertained by the fact she had managed to keep up the lie, even with all the sake she drank. And he didn't even have to manipulate her into doing it either; she went for the bait right away. And he didn't doubt that she hadn't seen it for what it was, either. Such an intriguing person.

"There's somethin' I'm still kinda curious about myself, Aizen-sama." Gin said, innocently. "Ya remember all'o them mind traps Ulquiorra used on Orihime-chan, na? How come we haven't used any on Isaki-chan?"

Aizen smirked.

"Because Shirazumi Isaki is not here for the same purposes as Inoue Orihime." he replied, looking out of the balcony at the bone-colored sands below. "You already know why the Inoue girl is here. She healed one of my most valuable warriors, and her powers are like nothing I have ever seen before. Although by reducing the amount of allies that may come running to Soul Society's rescue, she is the perfect hostage against Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Shirazumi Isaki is a different matter. Because of her particular abilities, brainwashing her is too risky. Although we could do it easily, there is something that would hold an equally powerful- and perhaps more reliable - is a debt."

Gin titled his head, smile gone for a moment

"Whaddaya mean?"

Aizen chuckled softly.

"You'll see."

* * *

Gin Ichimaru was one manipulative jerk.

This might have been what Isaki was thinking, but it was impossible to tell, because she was feeling dizzy, confused and, most crucially of all, lost.

Gin had gone through the trouble of sending an arrancar to take her to his chambers (the same one that had patched up her burnt arm, in fact), but he had utterly neglected to arrange for one to come and escort her back to her room.

And Isaki being in the state she was, she was absolutely nowhere near finding it.

Eventually, after staggering randomly from any corridor that happened to catch her particular attention (and given how her mind tended to wander, there were plenty), Isaki had eventually given up trying to get...wherever it was she had been going, and sat down in an empty corridor, finding a large pillar to rest against.

Actually, on closer inspection, it looked more like a hall then a corridor, but she had no idea what significance this had. It wasn't the throne room, that much she could surmise.

_Screw it,_ she thought, resting a weary head against the sleek wall behind her. _One white place is the same as another white place. I'll just go to sleep and maybe when I wake up I'll finally have beaten the level...  
_  
Her thoughts becoming increasingly more jumbled up and incoherant, Isaki's eyes slid closed as her body slumped down the wall...

"Hey, what the...?"

A deep and slightly confused-sounding voice caused the girl to stir. She squinted beneath her eyelashes to see an arrancar staring down at her.

This arrancar looked very different from Ulquiorra. His skin tone was a much more normal colour, for one, and his expression was not blank but of a sleepy bemusement. Messy, chocolate-coloured hair just brushed his shoulders, and his mask fragment sat around his neck like a collar.

"You're that Summoner girl, aren't you? What are you doing down here?"

"...Huh?" Isaki replied, helpfully.

The arrancar crouched down on his haunches and stared at her with grey-blue eyes. So much calmer and less dangerous-looking then Grimmjow's...

Wait, why was she even comparing him with the blue-haired punk, anyway?

"Are you _drunk_?" the arrancar suddenly asked, slightly incredulously.

"God, I hope so." Isaki groaned. "'Cuz it's either that or I'm havin' a mental breakdown. Gin had so MUCH sake with him..."

Here, the arrancar sighed and scratched his head with a gloved hand.

"What a pain..." he muttered. "Still, I can't just leave you here..."With that, he stretched a hand out and tugged Isaki to her feet. She staggered a bit and the arrancar put an arm around her, steadying her.

"Easy, kid. Okay, I'm going to take you back to your room, okay?"

"Okay. Room. Good thinking." Isaki nodded, yawning.

"Don't do that, you'll just set me off." The man sighed. "Right, here we go."

Isaki did not remember the rest of the journey back to her room. All she could really even register was the nice warmth of the male's arm around her, and she poured all of her concentration into putting one foot in front of the other and trying not to fall asleep. She refrained from talking- her tongue felt heavy in her mouth and nothing she said seemed to sound right. they arrived in the relative familiarity of Isaki's room, she crashed onto her knees once she got near enough to the sofa and small coffee table. Everything was blurred and off-balance. Isaki looked around her room as though she had no idea where she was, or how she had come to be there. Her hands sunk into the plush carpet beneath her.

"Get some sleep, kid." The arrancar advised her, turning to leave.

"Wait!" Isaki shouted, and he jolted slightly at the unexpected outburst.

"Wait," amended the girl, more softly. He looked at her. "Thanks, you know, for helping me. I didn't think arrancar did that. Helped, that is."

She shook her head, like a dog trying to dislodge water.

"Yeah." She said, as if answering a question. "Thank you. Um, what's your name?"

The arrancar stared at her, before allowing the smallest of smiles.

"Coyote Starrk." He told her, putting one hand on the large door and pushing. "Primera Espada."

With that, he left, leaving Isaki sitting there, staring at the door long after it shut with a resounding thud that echoed throughout the room. Slowly, she lay down, her cheek rubbing against the unexpectedly soft fabric of the carpet.

"...Primera, huh?" she said, softly, feeling herself falling asleep even as she spoke. "Not a bad guy...for an arrancar."

* * *

**Next Chapter: **Quid Pro Quo  
**  
**_"He's not coming for you, or for her." Grimmjow said, his grin dark and malicious in the cold light. "He's coming because he wants to kill. And you know it, don't you?"_

* * *

I may go back and change the next chapter preview when I've written more of it, I'm not 100% happy with it. Oh well.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned!


	6. Quid Pro Quo

Look here! A chapter that's not too far off from when the last one was published! It's a miracle! :O

Funny thing is, this took me longer than I expected to do, I had certain scenes all done, it was just a matter of lining them up. I DID have another fightscene lined up for this chapter, but I decided it bogged this one down and I've moved it. Also, my internet has been awfully draggy as of late. I'll give you one fact about it: It's between two dudes. :D I like the title for this chapter. (I liked the last chapter title too 'cuz it's from Oscar Wilde. XD But that's just me being nerdy.)

Enjoy!

* * *

Isaki pressed the palm of her hand against her face, doing her best to shield her eyes.

What the HELL had she been thinking last night?

Her head was pounding, worsened by the light creeping into the room, little though it was. She'd thrown up more times then she cared to count, and mostly she just felt incredibly disgusting and stupid.

Raja was not by her side. She wasn't sure whether he had just run out of energy waiting for her, or if he was too disgusted to be near her. She didn't blame him.

But what had that meeting with Gin accomplished? Why had he tried to find out such critical information about her, only to let it go so easily? Isaki did not believe for one minute that he had believed her. Honestly, she didn't even sound convincing to herself.

What was troubling her more than a vicious hangover and Gin, however, was the brown-haired arrancar who had guided her back to her quarters. Starrk.

She tried to remember if he had said anything important to her, but the memory of arriving at her room was all she could pull from the depths of her subconscious. She recalled the dinner, and Starrk walking into the bright corridor after dropping her off, but the journey itself was a mystery. But he had been so different from arrancar that Isaki had ever encountered. He possessed none of the wild intensity of Grimmjow, nor the cold, oppressive aura of Ulquiorra. It seemed as though he was simply tired.

How could a man like that be the highest ranking Espada out of a group of vicious psychopaths like them? True, Isaki could concede that Halibel did not seem all that bad, but her curt manner had simply put Isaki in mind of a soldier carrying out an order, nothing more.

But Gin had surprised her. At the time, she just wanted to throw a question at him because it felt like a clever thing to do, some kind of ineffectual way of proving she wasn't just going to sit there passively and allow him to hollow her from the inside out.

The fact he had actually answered her, and he sounded honest, at that, was nothing short of astonishing.

Isaki almost hissed in disgust as a beam of light fell over her face, the enormous door opening to reveal the perpetually stoic Ulquiorra.

"Get up." He said, with little intonation in his voice.

"Why?" Isaki answered back, a hint of a whine in her tone. She was in no mood to be measured and careful today, even if it was Ulquiorra.  
"I do not know exactly what you and Ichimaru were doing yesterday," Ulquiorra said. "But you are to go to the throne room in an hour. Aizen-sama wishes to further test your abilities."

"Wasn't the first time enough?"

If he was displeased, his expression didn't even flicker.

"Apparently not."

Isaki groaned and sat up, cradling her head in her palm. Her skull felt like it was about to split open.

"Don't I at least get a hangover cure?" she asked, not caring if Ulquiorra decided to punish her for being insolent.

"It is amazing such a woefully inadequate human such as yourself has appropriate power to interest Aizen-sama." Ulquiorra informed her pithily, his reiatsu level rising very slightly, and the air felt thick, almost humid. "I will be back in an hour after you have eaten. You had better be ready."

His reiatsu level dropped again, and Isaki let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She was about to ask another question, but when she looked up, Ulquiorra had gone, vanishing into the light as seamlessly as a ghost.

Isaki shook her head, tendrils of purple hair swinging past her cheeks.

"Jerk."

* * *

He had taken a lot longer then he first anticipated.

But once the battle lust hit him, he just hadn't been able to stop.

Now, Grimmjow lay in a deserted corridor, his labored breathing being the most obvious noise. The scent of blood was thick in the air- his own. He observed his tattered torso with something akin to indifference. He'd suffered through worse wounds; it was nothing life-threatening. But that didn't mean he felt satisfied. The only reason he returned to Las Noches was because he knew his absence would be noticed eventually, and he also knew if he went around slaughtering everything in his sight, as his bloodlust screamed for him to do, then there was a chance he would go so into battle he might just allow his injuries to get worse. He did not want to collapse pathetically out in the desert like vermin, especially if Tousen interpreted it as another reason to mutilate him again.

Sighing, the blue-haired man gazed up at the ceiling, his eyes narrowed in thought.

He may have been staining the walls red, but at least for those few hours, he had actually felt free.

* * *

"Fu...fuck."

Isaki coughed, and she could taste blood in the back of her throat.

Her stomach clenched. The little food she had managed to force down before this idiot fight hadn't helped her much. Compared to the current arrancar she was facing, the lizard guy had been a cakewalk.

She would have liked to blame her misfortune on her hangover, but the fact was, she was a human. Arrancar were faster, stronger, with thicker skin and immense stamina. Isaki had manage to land a few hits on the beast, who resembled something of a Satyr in his released form, but his last attack sent her across the room. She could feel hot blood streaking down her cheek, and she was aching in about ten different places.

What was she going to do? Her leg...it kind of hurt to stand on, and her speed was one of her strong-suits. If she couldn't run, then what could she do?

...But of course.

Slowly rising to her feet, her eyes scanning the enormous pillar of dust in case the arrancar was planning a sneak attack, she inhaled sharply through her nose.

Wiping at her scarlet cheek, Isaki slowly looked down at her hand, scarlet fluid coating her fingertips. She bit her lip before summoning what was left of her energy, and more importantly, her reiatsu.

She heard a gasp from somewhere as a seal appeared at her feet, a huge, intricate circle spanning around her, complicated patterns and symbols etched inside it. The symbol glowed with a bright violet light as Isaki held up a card in front of her.

She was going to have to make a Blood Summon.

Taking a moment to steady herself as she murmured words in a language that had been taught to her long ago when she was first made a Summoner instead of her sister.

Then, she began.

_"I call upon you, guardian of strength, as I offer my life's blood as compensation! Spirit, come to me now and lend me your power! __I summon you from the depths of your world to come to my aid, fight alongside me to vanquish this enemy before me!"_

"Do you really think that mumbo-jumbo is going to help you?!" the Satyr-like arrancar called mockingly as he approached from the now-settling dust, a smirk etched on his face. "Ha! Is this some kind of a joke? You're seriously...w-what?!"

Isaki stared ahead of her with a determined expression, as the circle's light glowed so brightly it hurt the arrancar to look at it. A voice spoke into the silence, as a form began to emerge from the center of the circle, its own mouth bared in a ruthless grin.

"You summoned me, Shirazumi-sama?"

Isaki nodded once, and then locked eyes with the astonished-looking arrancar before her. She smirked slightly despite the gash on her left cheek.

"Who's laughing now?"

* * *

"So, Aizen-sama, is that whatcha meant by 'different purposes', huh?"

"You could say that." Aizen responded, amused.

The two men stood at the balcony where they had had their previous discussion. Aizen staring at the moon as though he was trying to figure out how to catch it. Eventually, though, he spoke.

"There are not many people who can do what Shirazumi Isaki can do. Although at the moment she lacks the ability to do fully use it, the potential power she has is beyond measure."

Here, Aizen's look intensified.

"But the cost of being a Summoner is great. It involves sacrifice - if she cannot give part of herself according to the spirit's needs and desires, they don't work. Summoning requires pain. Work. She has no guarantee that every single Spirit will co-operate with her. Spirits are rarely inclined to help others with no benefit for them, and not many have particular care for their clients. You saw the blood transaction today - it could have killed her, and it is not the first, nor will it be the last, brush with death Shirazumi-san will face because of what her powers demand, and she knows that better than anyone."

Aizen smiled.

"But. If we can train her, make sure that she stays alive and make her think we have saved her...make her one of us...she would make an excellent weapon. In the past, Summoners have not always been allies of Soul Society, but of course, the events that they are not are downplayed significantly in history. Summoners are a varied mix, much moreso then the Quincy. With the wrong intentions, they can wreak destruction that can bring cities to their knees. Shirazumi being as young and inexperienced means that, possibly learning from old mistakes, Soul Society mostly chose to allow her a normal human life before she took up the mantle of her responsibilities, and if Kurosaki Ichigo and Shirazumi Isaki's fates had not intertwined, who is to say where her talents might have taken her? But as it stands now, she and Orihime Inoue have such potential. And If Shirazumi-san can be convinced that she was brought here to be helped, improved, then we will have her loyalty."

"We'll have her." Gin agreed.

* * *

Rubbing a hand over her bandaged stomach, all Isaki wanted to do was sleep. In fact, she was almost looking forward to returning to her room, even if it seemed like a prison cell.

Which is why she was hardly prepared when she almost fell over none other than Grimmjow.

"What the...?" Isaki said, a tad slowly.

The hallway was thick with the acrid smell of blood. It was so strong she wanted to pull her shirt up to her nose to mask it, but she didn't exactly have plenty of spare fabric to do that and quite frankly she didn't want to expose more of her stomach to somebody who, last time they had properly spoken, had expressed a desire to punch it.

Grimmjow glared at her. He didn't ask what she was doing there; the human seemed to have made it her business to be in places where she had no right to be, and frankly, he had more pressing concerns right now. But, despite the fact that he acted like a thug, Grimmjow was not stupid and realized that an opportunity had fallen at his feet.

"Hey." he said, sharply, causing her to jolt to attention, as before her cerulean gaze had been absently following the slowly-browning blood that streaked the walls. "You. Come here."

Isaki did, but only because she was curious about just what had managed to damage a man like Grimmjow Jaggerjacks. She frowned as she observed the wound on his chest- the smell was starting to make her a little nauseas.

"How did you-?"

"That ain't important! Don't just fuckin' stand there, bitch! You're a Summoner, so SUMMON somethin'!" Grimmjow barked, one hand pressed to the area that was releasing the most blood.

Isaki flinched at the aggressive outburst, but something else registered prominently in her mind and she glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fuck you. If you want me to help you that badly, then either _use my name_or think of something better to call me then 'bitch'!" she retorted angrily, eyes flashing.

A tense silence followed. Had Grimmjow been in a fit condition to do so, he would have leapt up and put that insolent little human in her place. But although he glowered menacingly at her, she wouldn't budge. Even her face remained still.

_What the fuck is her problem?!_ he thought, bitterly. He eyed her, feeling a grudging twinge of respect. _Che. Whatever._

"Fine," he snapped, abruptly. "Get on with it then, girl."

After a small pause, Isaki slowly unfolded her arms. Cautiously, she approached the Sexta Espada, keeping out of striking distance; He seemed to radiate a mutinous anger, like a caged animal. When she decided that he was unlikely to attack her (for the moment), she cautiously knelt down beside him. Slowly, she slipped a hand into her deep hakama pockets and withdrew what looked like a smallish rock.

"What the fuck is that?" Grimmjow said, as the girl unfurled her fist to reveal the contents.

"...Medicine." Isaki replied vaguely after a moment, not wanting to really go into details.

"And _where_," Grimmjow said, tone practically dripping with sarcasm. "did you get it?"

"Look, d'you want the stupid medicine or not?!" Isaki snapped.

He stared at her.

Then, he started laughing.

Isaki watched him, skittering back automatically at this outburst, but all he did was laugh and laugh, the noise loud in the otherwise empty space of the hallway. It was a crazy-sounded laugh, and it sent a shiver up her spine. It occurred to her that perhaps he was delirious from blood loss, but the thought of being with a wounded, incoherent Espada was hardly a step up from being stuck with a wounded, angry one.

In the interest of self-preservation, Isaki made to stand up. She didn't even know why she had bothered to consider helping him at all; he was the one who'd brought her to this godforsaken place! Well, yes, Ulquiorra had been there too and they had been doing it under Aizen's orders, but the injustice of it all still burned her. As she moved to get away, however, Grimmjow suddenly grabbed hold of her wrist; his gaze sharper then it had been a moment ago. Apparently, he was in more trouble then he cared to let on. He stared at her silently for a moment, but hours seemed to pass as human and arrancar looked at each other. There was something insistent in his gaze, and although he had a firm grip on her wrist, he wasn't hurting her, so Isaki found herself waiting, despite her awkward position of being in a half-stand.

"...Give it to me." Grimmjow said, his voice low and resonating with urgency. Isaki found herself holding very still as he spoke. "Girl. Give it..."

Here, he coughed slightly.

Exhaling slowly, as if it mattered greatly to do it carefully, Isaki stretched out her hand. Her mind felt weirdly blank, but the words Raja had relayed to her were echoing in her mind.

_Use it wisely, when it's really needed._

Isaki had never considered herself to be an overly kind person. Sure, she cared about her friends and family and her cat, but so what? She knew plenty of people like that; you were _supposed_to care for your friends and family. But if she compared herself to people like Orihime, who had so much compassion for things then Isaki had no idea how the red-haired girl managed to get out of bed every day, when the world could be so harsh. But Orihime made it her business to care about people she'd never met, people who probably couldn't show her the same kindness. About half of their school was in love with her for this quality (although the shapely body and general beauty may have helped), and it was a quality that confused Isaki to no end. Yet, there was something to admire about it, too. This was one of those situations where Orihime would have excelled- Isaki knew that, enemy or not, Orihime would not have hesitated to help this person, regardless of how vicious and sadistic he seemed. Most of all, she would not question why.

Isaki watched Grimmjow as he observed the grayish stone, and he looked almost as though he was tempted to sniff it, but instead he shoved it into his mouth and bit down hard. Isaki's inner voice was already berating her for her idiocy, handing over something as precious as that when even the littlest bit of help could very well make all the difference, or at the very least hold on to her sanity for a little longer. But no, she didn't do this. And yet, despite the inner diatribe going on in her head, she found that she didn't really feel as regretful as she should have.

Isaki did not want to think about what that meant.

Grimmjow swallowed the rock with distaste. First, it had tasted slightly salty, and then nothing at all, but swallowing the entire thing whole felt unpleasantly scratchy against his throat. He glanced down at his well-defined chest and noticed with surprise that the more severe wounds were beginning to knit together. He felt a little of his energy returning to him as well- it was by no means a particularly impressive cure, and he would need to either go see the healer girl or visit the infirmary, but it was something. At least he was no longer lying here like a bleeding slab of meat. Because if you lost your rank and respect around here, then that's what you were.

Isaki moved back a little as Grimmjow forced himself to his feet, ignoring the pain that sliced into his as he moved. But he didn't lash out at her for her earlier defiance; in fact, for a moment it seemed like he had almost forgotten she was there. When he looked at her, though, he was frowning.

"Don't think this changes anything, girl." he told her. "If you were hoping I was going to take you to see your little friend or bust you out of here or some stupid shit, you can forget about it."

Isaki folded her arms.

"Yeah, you're welcome." she answered, bitingly. Grimmjow bared his teeth slightly.

"Bitch."

"You said you weren't going to call me that anymore!" Isaki said, her voice loud in the corridor. She felt emboldened by her earlier power over him, or perhaps she was compensating for handing over her trump card so easily. "Or did you just lie so I'd help you?"

Grimmjow snorted. Now that his strength had returned to him (little though it was), he stared her out.

"Heh, so you're saying you didn't help me because you figured I'd owe you one? That's a laugh, girl. You don't get something for nothing."

Isaki's own eyes narrowed.

"Maybe not for arrancar."

Her comment had intended to throw him off, but to Isaki's surprise, a harsh laugh echoed down the corridor. It was not the manic laughter from before, but something about it still made the hairs on the back of Isaki's neck stand on end.

"You really are fucking gullible. Humans think they're so goddamned untouchable, don't they? I bet you think once your pathetic little friends show up here, you and the other bitch'll just walk right out of here like nothing even happened. You've no idea what the hell you've been dragged into, Summoner. Like your Soul Reaper buddies even really give a goddamn about either of you. I include that little fucker Kurosaki Ichigo in that, too!"

Isaki's eyes widened as Grimmjow relayed this. As bleak and crude as what he was saying was, this was the first time that Isaki had heard the assumption that Ichigo and the others would come for her and Orihime not only acknowledged, but practically confirmed as a certainty, made her heart race. But the ominous way Grimmjow had finished off his summary left her feeling oddly hollow, like she had received some amazing artifact, only to discover that it was actually worthless.

"What are you talking about?" she breathed. "Ulquiorra said that-"

"Ulquiorra doesn't want to admit he was a fucking idiot not to slaughter that shrimp as soon as laid eyes on him." Grimmjow said dismissively, making an impatient gesture with his wrist as if flicking away a fly. "Guess I gotta give him props for not doing it- it means that I'm the one who gets to finish him when he arrives on the battlefield. The only problem is, how should I kill him?"

Grimmjow grinned, leaving the horrible ways he could butcher the substitute unsaid. Isaki shook her head.

"The whole reason Ichigo is coming here is because you took Orihime!" Isaki snapped, her mind demanding that she reject this, this possibility that she and Orihime were merely of nominal importance and that they could easily have been left out to dry. She didn't know how dangerously close she was to the truth behind Aizen's kidnapping. "You're the ones who only care about battle. But my friends will-"

"He's not coming for you, or for her." Grimmjow interrupted, his grin dark and malicious in the cold light. "He's coming because he wants to kill. Shinigami like to pretend they're just so fuckin' moral because they bring the souls they decide are 'good' to Seireitei...and kill all the 'bad' souls, don't they? But really, they ain't so different from Hollows. Did you forget Hollows used to be humans? And Kurosaki has both Hollow and Shinigami blood inside him. When you combine two forces that wanna rip each other apart, you get chaos. And let me tell you one thing about chaotic beings..."

Here, he deliberately ran a hand through her hair, tugging at the dark strands enough to make Isaki flinch from the stinging pain in her scalp, and then he dragged her head back so she was looking at him in the eyes. She glared.

"...they can sense each other. And you...you're just like us on the inside. But yer a human. You were taught to b'lieve that obeying those instincts in you is wrong. But here...you ain't got much of a choice but to listen to your true nature. And that's what's gonna break you."

"You're wrong." Isaki told him, trying to pry herself free, but he hung on, eyes boring into hers as she contradicted him.

"You know what they say, little girl. Denial is the first step to acceptance."

"Stop calling me a little girl!" Isaki shouted.

Grimmjow snorted.

"Well, I guess you're not, not with those tits."

Isaki spluttered in disbelief and folded her arms over her chest, a hint of color appearing in her face.

"You're a total goddamn pervert, you know that!?"

"Get used to it."

But Isaki's indignation was short lived as the words imparted to her resounded in her mind, met by her own uncertain conscious.

_Is it true? Does the fact that I'm a human mean I assume Shinigami are good because they protect us from Hollows?_

_Can you really blame a monster when it behaves like one? Can you really hate something for just obeying its true nature?_

_Am I really so different?_

_..._

Suddenly, Isaki became aware that Grimmjow was suddenly walking away from her, hands shoved into his pockets.

"What-? Where are you going?" Isaki demanded angrily.

He sneered.

"Tch. You really think medicine that weak could last this long?"

Isaki growled. She was sorry she'd ever handed it over.

"Fine!" she said, throwing her hands up into the air and swiveling round, her feet carrying her back to her intended route before she had been sucked in to all this. But in her mind's eye, she could see _him_– the black-and-gold eyes of the creatures that lived inside Ichigo, the one with no name...

Grimmjow glanced back when he was sure the girl was preoccupied, watching the loose fall of purple hair as it slowly became swallowed up by the darkness beyond the corridor he was standing in.

Despite his stubborn insistence to the contrary, as arrancar and girl parted, they both left with the same knowledge imparted to them; Isaki had helped Grimmjow, when, as she was a prisoner, she had no logical reason to do so.

And so the irrefutable fact remained in Grimmjow's mind as he stalked reluctantly towards the infirmary:

He owed her, and he knew it.

* * *

**Next Chapter: **Chain Reaction

_"He stared at her for a second, letting his eyes travel down from those blue eyes of hers to her throat. He saw her swallow, and felt the strangest urge to wrap a hand around her neck. Instead, he roughly let go of her and left the room without another word."_

* * *

Man, when did this fic suddenly become all philosophical? XD But now some of Isaki's more...morally ambigous tendencies are becoming apparent (in battle at least anyway), I like the result. And incidentally, next chapter, things are really going to kick off for her...and for Grimmjow. :3

As always, thanks fer readin'!


	7. Chain Reaction

Hi-hi!

UGH, I know, I'm a bad writer, it's been nearly (?) a year since the last chapter. To be fair to myself, I'm not really that into Bleach these days, but rest assured, this story is NOT abandoned, especially not after all the lovely feedback for the previous chapter! ^-^ It's stuff like that that keeps me going. I've been dying to write this chapter, actually, so it all works out!

Enjoy!

* * *

_He wanted to do things to her,  
It was making him crazy.  
Now a little crush turned into a like,  
And now he wants to grab her by the hair and say,_

_I want to hold you close,  
__Skin pressed against me tight_  
_Lie still, and close your eyes girl_  
_So lovely, it feels so right_

_I want to hold you close_  
_Soft breasts, beating heart_  
_As I whisper in your ear_

_"I wanna fucking tear you apart"_

_(She Wants Revenge)_

Footsteps alerted sensitive arrancar hearing to the approach of a newcomer. One who wasn't bothering to muffle their reiatsu, at that. Or maybe they simply didn't know how to.

Nnoitra grinned.

The Fifth Espada was impatient. Although he was pretty certain that the healer girl's friends wouldn't provide him with much of a fight, he was still itching for them to arrive at Las Noches. They were, as far as Nnoitra was concerned, the appetizer to a great meal. Once the weaklings were picked off, one by one, the Shinigami would be forced to continue to send stronger and stronger enemies. The thrill of battle, the promise of bloodshed…it was almost too much to handle.

But Nnoitra had to wait, just as they all did. He may have been just as much as a bloodthirsty solider as Grimmjow, probably even more so, but he had already seen the aftermath of Tousen's punishment to the Sexta. He didn't care much for Tousen, but it wasn't worth pissing off Aizen. After all, Nnoitra intended to die on the battlefield. He simply could not have it any other way, no matter how bored he got.

So, he would simply be forced to relieve his irritation through other means.

Killing low-level arrancar was usually boring for him, but the mindless slaughter was better than nothing. He got a cheap thrill out of purposely baiting them into attacking him before slashing them down again. Hell, he'd even spent a little time baiting the Quarto about Aizen's new pet. Nnoitra would never admit it- he was hardly aware of it- but it irritated him. What made Ulquiorra so special that he got to have not just one, but both of the humans? If Aizen wanted them to submit to him, Nnoitra was fairly confident that Ulquiorra was the slow option. He could have them begging for mercy in minutes…he had spent plenty of time thinking about the red-haired woman, how her huge, doe-eyes, glorious body and childlike innocence simply _screamed_ to be corrupted, tainted and ruined. Her powers meant that the possibilities with her were endless- you could tear her apart and have her mended over and over again.

Unfortunately, perhaps because he knew of the thoughts that lurked in the Fifth's mind, there was no opportunity for Nnoitra to get remotely close to acting out any of his ideas.

But, then, there was always _her…  
_

* * *

"Loly!"

Menoly panted slightly as she chased after her headstrong partner.

She hated to admit it, but she was starting to get worried about Loly's irrational mood swings. Loly had always been far too hot-headed for her own good, but just recently, there was a sensation that Loly was only moments away from detonating, and any careless movement could potentially set her off. Menoly wanted to see Inoue Orihime suffering, as well, but Loly was playing a dangerous game. One that Menoly wasn't so sure they'd win.

"But, Loly, how are we supposed to get at her?" Menoly persisted, finally catching up with Loly, who was striding forward with furious steps, skirt fluttering dangerously high up her thin thighs. "Ulquiorra watches her around the clock! You know that we're not strong enough to-"

"_Idiot_!" Loly retorted, angrily. She'd never been very good at tolerating criticism. "We'll just sneak in when he's not there with _Princess-chan._ don't you remember what Aizen-sama said? He told the Espada that the bitch's friends were coming to save her. They're getting ready to actually try and fight against Aizen-sama's army! Everyone will be too busy killing them to worry about her!"

Menoly frowned.

"You really think it'll be that easy?"

Loly grinned- an expression that wouldn't have looked out of place on a serial killer.

"It's like I said- that bitch will be sorry she was ever born."

Little did the two females know, their conversation had been overheard.

Isaki stood there, noting that her breathing had become somewhat shallow, as if she'd just emerged from a swimming pool. Were...were they serious? She had no doubt they'd been discussing Orihime, but the question was, why?

Isaki closed her eyes for a moment, leaning against the wall as she realized that she knew the answer, all too well.

* * *

_"Ah, well, in my story, at first I'm getting ready for bed, when suddenly-!"_

_"Ugh."_

_Isaki let her head fall back to glare, upside-down, at the bright-haired girl who was babbling animatedly to her friends about some story in which she became a dragon, then a magical maid, then a laser beam-toting robot. Possibly not even in that order._

_"What?"_

_Isaki's friend glanced over as the dark-haired girl scowled. _

_"How does somebody like that get such high grades?" Isaki asked, not really caring for an actual answer. It was a humid day, and the intolerable weather was making her grouchy and petulant. "God, listen to her! A two-year-old could come up with a story that makes more sense. And her friends are eating it up!"_

_Isaki didn't really understand her resentment towards Orihime. Something about her just got under her skin, and she was too impatient to waste energy on figuring out why. It wasn't really something she even thought about, most of the time, but every so often it would spring up when Orihime was walking down the hall or giggling with her friends. Isaki would hear her voice or see the girl out of the corner of her eye and instantly become irritated. Most of the time, she avoided the girl, which wasn't hard to do as Isaki, being older, didn't have any classes with her._

_But eventually, the answer came to her by itself. Orihime just didn't seem real. The wide, droopy eyes, the long orange hair, the "porn-star "figure, coupled with the obliviousness of a little girl...it was like Orihime had just popped out of some guy's cheesy daydream. Isaki was convinced, not without reason, that Orihime's personality was somehow a cynical ploy to attract people to her, conning them with her innocent attitude and unattainable beauty. Especially since she always seemed to have the lusty Chizuru pouncing on her, loudly declaring how "cute" Orihime was (clever, Isaki had thought, so Orihime never is caught actually complimenting herself, she has Chizuru to do it for her), and Tatsuki following her around like a guard dog. Isaki had even seen the brunette chase away slightly more forward guys or any girl she heard criticizing her friend. This act of friendship was interpreted as something more sinister than it actually was._

_"But don't you think she's kind of stuck-up?" Isaki persisted, later. "I mean, she has her own adoring crowd wherever she goes! It's so annoying. Who really acts like that? And seriously, her NAME even means 'Princess'!"_

_"Yeah, I get what you mean."_

_Isaki was confused by her own hostility, but after she got older, she started to understand it a little more. It embarrassed her, but the truth was, Isaki had always felt strangely uncomfortable around feminine women. Orihime may have a very strange imagination and a black belt in karate, but there was something undeniably feminine about her, like a princess in a storybook. It took the other girl a long time to realize that the reason Orihime bothered her was because she reminded her of Maiha, and to a lesser extent, her mother. Isaki's relationship with her older sister and mother had always been strange. A combination of resentment and awe, especially in her mother's case. When Isaki bothered to actually get to know the girl, she found that Orihime was actually not only likable in her own right, but she was nothing like Isaki's contentious family members. She was gentle, kind and somewhat spacey, but she was tougher than she seemed and Isaki found she liked Orihime for that. _

_Of course, the fact that Orihime somehow had managed to befriend Isaki made it all the worse for the dark-haired girl, because Orihime had no idea that Isaki had spent a considerable amount of time hating her, even if it was something of a secret that Orihime wasn't in on. And Isaki knew that if Orihime recalled the glares that Isaki would sometimes shoot Orihime from across the canteen, or 'accidentally' trip up the redhead in the hallways, Orihime would forgive her. Forgiveness that Isaki felt that she hadn't earned. Some days, Isaki wondered how much of her harassment of Orihime had actually happened and how much of it she'd merely imagined. Even Ichigo didn't know much about it, but then, he was a boy. He didn't know about the secret language of girls, of how a smirk or a giggle or a whispered comment could be just as, if not more, devastating than a punch if used correctly. Yet Orihime had never once confronted any of her tormentors, in fact, Isaki was pretty certain that Orihime had no idea who Isaki was._

_One day, though, that all changed.  
_

* * *

"I am getting tired of having to tell you that you do not belong here."

Ah.

Of course.

Isaki bit back a groan as she heard the monotonous voice of Ulquiorra. She had been heading- rather brazenly- in the direction of Orihime's room. She figured that if nobody else was going to take this matter seriously, she'd just have to go and warn her friend her damn self. Of course, she knew her path would be intercepted by the ever-vigilant Ulquiorra. The speed at which he did it was nothing short of impressive, however, if very exasperating.

"I-I have a good reason this time!" Isaki said as she turned to him, already noting a somewhat belligerent note creeping into her voice, but with Ulquiorra, he just seemed to bring it out in her.

"Is that so." Said Ulquiorra, sounding bored, but then, he always sounded like that. Isaki noted a very slight furrowing of his eyebrows- he didn't believe her. Isaki shook her head, a feeling of slight panic bubbling up her throat. She had to say something.

"But- I saw- those girls!"

For some reason, now, when she had a perfectly good reason for being so close to Orihime's quarters, Isaki suddenly couldn't spit out a coherent sentence. Ulquiorra merely stared at her as Isaki stumbled over her words. In another time, she might have found this funny.

"What girls?" Ulquiorra said, his voice its usual monotone, but Isaki could detect a faint air of exasperation.

Or at least, she thought she could. She wasn't sure if she was simply hearing what she wanted to hear or if she was beginning to get better at discerning the subtle nuances of Ulquiorra. The thought disturbed her. Isaki shook her head.

"I don't know their names!" she said, impatiently. "I heard them- they said that they were going to get to Orihime when you weren't around. I had to warn-"

"You will go no further." Ulquiorra said, and although he hadn't moved, Isaki had no doubt he'd enforce this statement if she gave him reason to. That didn't stop her from feeling angry, though. So she fixed him with her best glare as she snapped;

"Well, what are you going to _do_ about it?" she said, her blue eyes locked with Ulquiorra's artic emerald ones in a silent battle of wills.

This was an argument that Isaki did not want to lose. She may have had pointless verbal stalemates with Ulquiorra before, but this time, it was more than a matter of stubbornness. This was Orihime's well-being on the line, and Isaki felt responsible for the younger girl's safety, despite her own status as a prisoner. Isaki drew in a breath.

"They're relying on you to let your guard down at some point, right? You have to warn her in case they get past you!"

And it was Ulquiorra's reply that was his undoing. Rather than rebuke Isaki for the audacity of ordering him around when she was here as Aizen's prisoner, he looked away from her as if he couldn't be bothered to look at her face for a moment longer.

"They will not."

Isaki paused, as she'd already been about to say her next line to try and persuade Ulquiorra to take the matter seriously. To convince him so easily made her suspicious, so she blurted;

"What?"

Now Ulquiorra looked back at her, and for once it wasn't with the detached, apathetic gaze he usually gave her, like she was a lab specimen on a tray. Instead, there was an icy determination in his eyes, a tightness of his black lips that, for the first time since Isaki had first seen him, demonstrated that something was beneath that impenetrable demeanor after all. She wasn't sure whether to be pleased or worried about this development.

"Nothing will get to the woman while I am charged with guarding her," Ulquiorra said, more to himself than to the girl standing beside him. "Aizen-sama asked this of me, and I will not disappoint. She is my responsibility."

Logically, Ulquiorra's loyalty to Aizen was the reason Ulquiorra was saying all this…but Isaki was struck by something else. She knew that it was wild speculation, knew that besides an incredibly subtle shift in demeanor didn't necessarily amount to anything…

But, in her gut…

Isaki couldn't shake the feeling that…

_"You care about her."_

Ulquiorra was suddenly paying attention. His head snapped back to Isaki's, almost like he regretted taking his attention off her, even for a moment. Isaki was staring at him, and he could see that, in those large blue eyes of hers, she was being totally sincere.

"What did you say?" Ulquiorra asked, glacier-cold, but Isaki was not deterred.

"You heard what I said, Ulquiorra." Her voice was intense, serious. Now she finally understood. "You care about Orihime Inoue."

* * *

A door slammed shut with a loud bang that reverberated down the vast, empty corridor. The Sexta Espada left the infirmary, of sorts, scowling and massaging the back of his neck, footsteps virtually silent as he walked away.

Grimmjow ended up hanging out there overnight; not because he really needed to, just out of utter apathy. Still, he knew he should leave before people began asking questions about what he'd been doing to leave him all bandaged up like that. A sound of metal scraping against stone alerted Grimmjow to the presence of Nnoitra, who was leaning against the wall as if waiting for something, his lanky frame casting spindly shadows across the tiled floor.

"Ya look like shit, Sexta."

Grimmjow barely reacted- Nnoitra was trying to get a rise out of him and Grimmjow wasn't stupid enough to fall for it. It was ironic that, despite their similarities, the two arrancar didn't like each other much. Honestly, it irked Grimmjow that Nnoitra was higher on the ranking system than he was. But then, as far as the Sexta was concerned, he was the rightful King, and viewed all those who technically held a higher rank as mere obstacles to his throne. For now, he could play the dutiful soldier, but he wasn't about to go around kissing ass like that damned Ulquiorra. People of a lower rank already knew not to mess with him- butchering Luppi had seen to that, but he wasn't about to lower himself to abate Nnoitra's boredom, even if he himself could use a good fight.

"The fuck do you want, Nnoitra?" Grimmjow growled, azure eyes narrowing slightly, a disinterested scowl on his face.

"Man, yer just as borin' as Ulquiorra these days," sighed Nnoitra, as if Grimmjow had disappointed him. "And you ain't even got a pet ta keep ya occupied."

Now Grimmjow was paying attention. He glanced over at the lanky Espada, who was staring down the corridor he was facing, leaning arrogantly against the wall like he owned the place, his sword strapped to his back as it always was, regardless of the fact he was indoors. Further down, they knew that there was an intersection where, in theory, just about anybody could appear as they walked down it, any moment now.

"Good luck with that," sneered Grimmjow, the pieces clicking together pretty quickly- Nnoitra's reputation for this sort of thing dated way back before Orihime Inoue. "She never leaves her damn cage. Ulquiorra'd go running off to Aizen."

He was about to walk away, satisfied by this, when what Nnoitra said next made him stop.

"Who said I was waiting for Pet-sama?"

Nnoitra smirked.

"After all, I ain't ever heard of a Summoner before." he went on, winding the chain of his sword around his wrist as he spoke, enjoying the way it chafed against his gloves. "Makes ya kinda curious...are they just as weak as normal humans? Didn't sound that way from what Aizen said 'bout 'em. Makes ya wonder just how much pressure it takes to break 'em."

Grimmjow stood there for a moment, simply listening, and was surprised to find when he was jerked back into reality that he was clenching his jaw. But he rolled his shoulder, feigning disinterest.

"Dunno why you're wasting your time waiting for her," he said, snorting. "Not when we've got Shinigami fuckers to take care of."

"Yeah, so what?" replied the Fifth, now looking up at the Sexta, a suspicious note in his tone. "They ain't fuckin' here yet, are they? Gotta do somethin' around here to spend time until they get their lazy asses here."

Nnoitra had a point, but like hell Grimmjow was going to be seen agreeing with him.

"Whatever." Grimmjow said, instead, after a slightly too long pause. "Your fuckin' problem. Looks like a total waste of time if ya ask me."

"Oh, I don't know about that." Nnoitra replied, his voice pitched lower, tone full of suggestiveness. "From what I've heard, she's pretty feisty. Don't know what the fuck Aizen was thinkin', givin' a girl like that to that dipshit. I could have way more fun with her..."

It seemed almost as though Nnoitra was more talking to himself than Grimmjow, but the Sexta was listening intently to every word, because each one that spilled from Nnoitra's unnaturally wide grin made him seethe with anger. He didn't need to dwell on why- as far as Grimmjow was concerned, Nnoitra had no right to be thinking of what he would do with Shirazumi Isaki, because that was never going to happen. Grimmjow would not allow it. It wasn't just because of his own selfish urge to have the Summoner all to himself, either, although that was certainly part of it. But...he knew exactly what would happen if Aizen were to let Nnoitra get near her.

"What's up your ass?" drawled Nnoitra.

For some reason, the Sexta was getting angry, and Nnoitra was all too happy to continue to pick and scratch at this apparent sore spot he had found. Grimmjow was facing away from him, but the other Espada could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his fists were clenched, spine erect.

Grimmjow turned, and Nnoitra, despite the fact he loomed over the other Espada, got a flash of pure rage in those poisonously blue eyes.

Right before Grimmjow punched him in the face.

* * *

Grimmjow could feel eyes searing into him as he stood before Aizen's throne, hands stuffed into his pockets, gaze directed at nothing in particular. He could practically _feel_ Tousen's outrage, and wondered how angry the blind man must have been when Grimmjow's arm was restored right in front of him, Aizen blatantly ignoring Tousen's twisted obsession with justice.

"Gin tells me that it was just a discussion that got out of hand, ne, Grimmjow?"

Grimmjow said nothing.

Nnoitra, of course, had retaliated against Grimmjow strike by blasting him with a cero- obliterating much of the corridor, but not his target. The two of them had exchanged several blows, but before things got really interesting, they had both been stopped by an eerie presence. Gin's infernal smile never wavered as he surveyed the damage, tsking to himself as though they had merely knocked over an expensive lamp or something.

"Aizen-sama ain't gonna like this," he observed casually, before walking away. The Espada had no other choice but to follow him- they may not have liked Gin, but they couldn't outright disobey him, much as they wanted to continue the fight.

Aizen had spoken with Nnoitra first- Grimmjow didn't know what had been said, or exactly how much of their conversation Gin had overheard, but he did know that unless he was careful, he'd be right back to where he was before Orihime Inoue had been brought here.

"Somethin' like that." He agreed, because often, Aizen merely spoke for the sake of it. That man liked the sound of his own voice.

Aizen smirked and leant forward, steepling his fingers.

"You know, Grimmjow…it seems to me that you have not yet been congratulated for your part in helping bring Shirazumi-san here, despite complications. I always reward loyalty, after all. You have your arm back, that's true…but perhaps I have overlooked something?"

Grimmjow frowned very slightly, not following.

"I think…Ulquiorra may be a tad overworked." Aizen went on thoughtfully, in a voice like silk. "And, from what Gin has mentioned…maybe you would be more suited to guarding Shirazumi-san, Grimmjow."

Silence fell.

Grimmjow stared up at Aizen, surprise painted across his features.

_Him?_ Look after the _human?_ One that seemed to have the unique ability to both piss him off and amuse him each time she opened her mouth, at that? Had Aizen lost his mind or was this some kind of sick joke?

But, perhaps, the aggravating effect Isaki had didn't merely extend to Grimmjow alone.

For reasons unknown, Shirazumi Isaki seemed bound and determined to challenge Ulquiorra and any other subordinate of Aizen's that crossed her path. Although only Isaki, Gin and Aizen knew all the details of what happened when Gin had 'invited' Isaki to dinner, rumors had spread when the purple-haired girl had been seen in Gin's quarters. With Ulquiorra, Isaki seemed as though she wanted to get a rise out of him, for reasons known only she knew. She wasn't frightened of him; at least, not as much as she should be. It didn't matter to Isaki that Ulquiorra was dangerous; it didn't matter to her that he was higher on the totem pole then Grimmjow. Something about the stoic Espada annoyed her beyond belief. Perhaps it was that, being an emotive person herself, she found his deadpan delivery and constant poker face to be unnerving. She wanted to crack it, it seemed, wanted to see if Ulquiorra really was as dull and empty as he acted.

With Grimmjow, it was different. His emotions bubbled fairly close to the surface, much like her own. Isaki knew that the blue-haired man was volatile, unpredictable; she'd seen the aftermath of Ichigo's battles with him. They were never pretty, and more than that, he _liked_ causing pain. Ulquiorra dispatched enemies with the indifference one would reserve for squashing an insect. Grimmjow liked to watch them struggle. Isaki herself didn't know Grimmjow's exact reasons for his vendetta against her friend, but she knew that each time they collided, it always ended in destruction. He exuded a chaotic energy that made Isaki nervous- he wasn't there out of loyalty, which much was certain. He was there for power. She knew that Aizen had a tight hold over his army, but she also knew that Aizen's concern for his subordinates did not extend far, if it existed at all. Grimmjow was a loose canon, primed to go off at any given moment, even without the permission of his superior.

Grimmjow himself knew Isaki was afraid of him, more so than she seemed to be of anyone else. (Besides maybe Aizen.) Was that it, then? Aizen was using that fear as a means of control? Exactly how much leeway was Grimmjow going to be granted over Ulquiorra, if it meant breaking the Summoner faster?

But there was also the fact that all this seemed to have stemmed from his fight with Nnoitra.

Even Grimmjow himself wasn't exactly sure why he'd done it- he rarely stopped to consider his actions once he'd already done them. What was the point? He wasn't the meditative type. But he could easily have just walked away, it's not like he'd never heard Nnoitra's lecherous suggestions before. The Fifth Espada had been tripping over his own tongue since Orihime Inoue's arrival at Las Noches, why wouldn't he pay attention to the arrival of a second human?

But then that, of course, was the distinction. While Orihime had been ordered to restore Grimmjow's arm and then, at his request, the tattoo symbolising his rank, he knew that she had done him a favor, whether of her own violation of not. It had been a demonstration of her power as far as she knew, but Aizen was getting back a valuable solider and Grimmjow was getting his livelihood back. He didn't know if Orihime saw it that way, but he did, and he knew that eventually, a situation would arise wherein he would have to pay back what he owed. But it was difficult to think of what a situation like that might be, when she was so heavily guarded and already had the stoic Ulquiorra, who, like Nnoitra, seemed to be unusually interested in her, regardless of Aizen's orders.

Shirazumi Isaki was different. She was not locked away like a princess in a fairytale, but instead she seemed to go wherever she wanted to, until someone directly interfered. She was dragged out onto the battlefield like a performance, and she generally seemed to let whatever was in her head leave her mouth without much thought to the consequences. She'd attract the wrath of someone like Nnoitra almost instantly- Nnoitra was prone to detonation over the smallest of slights, and the fact that a human woman had the outright gall to sass him would have no doubt driven him crazy, especially considering what he did to a higher-ranking Espada for pitying him. Grimmjow knew that, unless Aizen or someone directly below that, ordered him to stay away from her, Nnoitra was likely to hound the Summoner until he was satisfied he'd intimidated her enough for her to acknowledge him, a male arrancar, as superior. Grimmjow also knew two things: That Isaki would never do it, being an uncommonly stubborn creature and, what's more, she was much less likely to be saved at the last minute by Ulquiorra. It was hard to tell what the dour arrancar was thinking, but there'd be no doubt he would not deign to interfere with Nnoitra's ministrations. The Summoner's constant defiance of him was reason enough- Ulquiorra need only interfere if it was life-threatening, after all. That was why he never bothered to physically stop Grimmjow when the Sexta took an interest in her.

Was that it, then?

Orihime Inoue may have been the one to restore his arm, and for that, he owed her, but Grimmjow didn't consider her his responsibility beyond that. Ulquiorra was the one who was in charge of forcing her to eat and making sure she didn't do anything stupid like trying to kill herself.

Isaki was different. She had no particular arrancar connection; Halibel and Ulquiorra had both given Aizen reports on her, but she was not tethered. She roamed around the halls whenever she got the chance, like she had the right to do so, like she was one of them.

Grimmjow grinned to himself. He had to admit that the idea of being in charge of someone the oh-so-superior Ulquiorra couldn't adequately control had its appeal.

"I accept, Aizen-sama." He said, hating himself for using the suffix he felt Aizen didn't deserve, but his excitement was not fake.

"Excellent." Aizen answered, his small smile juxtaposed by the gleam in his eyes. "I will notify Ulquiorra that Shirazumi Isaki is no longer his responsibility. And I will send for someone to tell her of this change."

"No need," Grimmjow interjected, now smirking. "I'll tell her myself."

"As you wish…Grimmjow."

* * *

Isaki's pupils shrank at the abrupt exposure to light, leaving more room for the blue of her irises to shine through as she squinted, attempting to identify her visitor. Although really, even as a silhouette, Grimmjow was pretty distinctive with that gaping hole in his stomach. She rolled her eyes- just what she needed, after her 'encounter' with Ulquiorra.

"What are _you_ doing here?" she scowled.

Grimmjow didn't answer her right away, he just continued to approach her, hands shoved casually in his pockets like he was headed to a bus stop. His expression was one of disinterest, almost boredom, but as Isaki's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his taciturn demeanor, he suddenly broke out into a grin that was almost alarming, tilting his head back, all the better to leer down at her.

"You and me're gonna be spending a lot more time together, sweetheart."

He loved her disgusted expression at the nickname.

"What?" she spat, confusion evident on her pale features.

Grimmjow's smirk stretched across his face. He did so love to play with his prey, and outside of Kurosaki Ichigo, she was probably the most exciting prey he'd ever had cornered. And unlike Kurosaki, she didn't have any allies that were going to show up and bail her out of trouble. In this scenario, Grimmjow could take as much time as he pleased.

"Oh, did you not hear me? I'll spell it out for you."

He moved closer to her and took pleasure in invading her personal space. Isaki shrank back, glaring at him, but there was nowhere for her to go. She ended up leaning back on the plush couch on her elbows. Grimmjow stopped just in front of her, so she was forced to crane her neck to keep steady eye contact.

"Remember how you never do a damn thing Ulquiorra bastard tells you? Maybe that wasn't such a smart move after all, girl. Because now, you're stuck with me. Aizen's orders and everything."

"I don't believe you." She hissed.

Her mind refused to accept it- why would Aizen put Grimmjow in charge of her? Did he somehow not know that the man threatened her life almost every time he saw her? Or was that the whole point? But if he wanted her broken that badly, why not do it himself?

Grimmjow laughed at her. She really did enjoy making everything much more difficult than it needed to be. If he wasn't having so much fun toying with her, he might have even felt a little indignant at her tone. Who did the ungrateful little brat think she was talking to? Although he would deny it, the truth was, if it wasn't for Grimmjow, then Nnoitra might have begun to get bored with just imagining; He might have started to think maybe, just maybe, he could get away with the real thing. And Grimmjow couldn't allow somebody else messing with what he considered to be his. Which brought him back to the present, with the girl staring at him with a bewildered, suspicious look. Grimmjow raised an eyebrow.

"Seeing as how I'm your fucking babysitter now, I'm setting a few rules."

Grimmjow lifted up a finger, pointing it imperiously at her.

"One: you'll stay where I can find you. I ain't running around trying to stop you from getting your fucking head pulled off by other arrancar, so you stay in this area."

Isaki opened her mouth to protest this, but Grimmjow ploughed on.

"Two: no trying to escape."

Isaki was about to point out that this rule seemed to be the same as the first, but he continued anyway.

"Three: you do what I tell you, when I fucking tell you to do it."

Here, he suddenly grabbed her chin and pulled her forwards slightly, his thumbnail digging into her cheek. Isaki yelped slightly and attempted to pull away, but it only resulted in Grimmjow's smirk widening and him tightening his grip on her. _Oh no,_ he thought as he watched those large eyes of her widen, pupils shrinking, _you aren't getting away from me, girl._

"Got all that?" he asked, his voice low, and Isaki suddenly felt oddly short of breath.

"Y-yeah..." she mumbled, once again trying to jerk her face free.

This time, Grimmjow let her go, feeling a rush of sick satisfaction at seeing the imprints of his fingernails in her cheek. She wouldn't meet his eyes. Good- it meant she was still afraid. Grimmjow headed towards the door, when he paused, remembering something.

"One more thing." he said, and Isaki twitched, startled. Grimmjow's eyes bored into hers. "Ulquiorra told me that your little friend's been refusing to eat. Said he had to threaten to tie her down so he could force the stuff down her throat. Maybe he did, for all we know. Who knows what happens behind these walls?"

Grimmjow stalked back towards Isaki, who shrank back slightly, despite herself. He grabbed the front of her shirt, pulling her up to him, and said into her ear;

"If you try and pull any of that shit with me, I won't be nearly as nice."

He stared at her for a second, letting his eyes travel down from those blue eyes of hers to her throat. He saw her swallow, and felt the strangest urge to wrap a hand around her neck. Instead, he roughly let go of her and left the room without another word, the echo of the door slamming ringing out, carrying a note of finality that left Isaki cold, as if it had announced that her fate had been sealed.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** True Nature

_"We aren't that different, you know." Isaki said. "We have one thing in common, anyway."_

_"Oh?" sneered Grimmjow, only half-turning to look at her. "And what, pray tell, might that be?"_

_Isaki almost smiled, her face half in shadow._

_"You hate him as much as I do."  
_

* * *

Eeeeh, don't know about that Chapter title, but I guess I can sneak back and edit it if I think of something better. XD Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one, with its sexual tension goodness, and I've been dying to expand on the friendship between Orihime and Isaki. There will be more of that to come, and we will get more insight onto Isaki and Ulquiorra's conversation, rest assured. :3


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